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Rear Seat - cargo space/flat floor in the future?

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SharkSisB

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Let's hope that Rivian designers are reading this forum and will consider a design change soon to offer way more interior cargo space by reconfiguring the rear seats. I haven't yet heard a good argument for the current design - does anyone have one to suggest?

For a company with an origin connected to Florida (name is inspired by Indian River near where founder grew up in Florida) I would hope that the need for/benefit of interior cargo space to avoid our crazy hot rainy weather would be obvious. And there's also the security feature of being able to transport expensive large gear (bikes, SCUBA tanks, etc.) inside the lock-able cab rather than in the bed.

Here's how Honda did the rear seats on the Ridgeline:

Rivian R1T R1S Rear Seat - cargo space/flat floor in the future? 1597158995275
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Do you have any photos/sketches of what that platform would look like? I'm planning to order the longest-capacity battery and didn't realize that it would affect the rear cabin space. (Am admitting my naivete about this - am a new member of the forum and slowly uncovering lots of details that I probably should have known by now. Thanks for your patience.)
I haven't seen pics or sketches, but Rivian has confirmed the storage space beneath the rear seat will be taken by additional battery modules for the 180 pack.
 

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With a frunk, gear tunnel and pickup bed, there's plenty of gear storage in a R1T.

As mentioned earlier, #21, under the rear seat storage was designed with more gear in mind, but perhaps it's not too late to lobby for a design change. Under the seat, gear storage can be/is being accommodated elsewhere.

Better space for pets, a sleeping platform, and larger, standing items, like for bikes, is needed. Anyone listening?
 

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With a frunk, gear tunnel and pickup bed, there's plenty of gear storage in a R1T.

As mentioned earlier, #21, under the rear seat storage was designed with more gear in mind, but perhaps it's not too late to lobby for a design change. Gear storage can be/is being accommodated elsewhere.

Better space for pets, a sleeping platform, and larger, standing items, like bikes, is needed. Anyone listening?
 
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Coast2Coast

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Sorry about the duplication on #33 & #34. Don't know how that happened.

As I've thought about the rear seat area in the R1T, it's turned into a big deal in my mind. While other trucks split on how to handle the area, with some offering under-seat storage and others offering a flat or nearly flat area, it seems the flat or nearly flat option is more popular. Just my impression.

It makes sense why. In-cabin, lockable, upright, flat or nearly flat space for tool boxes, pets, bikes and overnighting is limited. There's plenty of other space for gear, note the gear tunnel name.

Make the rear of the R1T like the rear of the R1S. That would be a big win for utility and versatility.
 
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I just wish that Rivian would have designed the R1T rear seats to allow for a lot more cargo space by exposing a flat floor in the rear cab.


I agree. My wife's Silverado has this type of seat and we use it A LOT for many different purposes. It would be a nice touch.
 

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It seems likely to me that this design is to simplify production between the 180kWh pack models and the other models. They probably don't want to do two different designs and this one allows them to use the same seats either way. Fold up seats wouldn't really work with the larger pack, or wouldn't serve any purpose anyway.

I do agree that it's a disappointment for pet owners. It's also a bit of a disappointment for 180kWh buyers, because I'd actually like that packed away but climate controlled storage. The kids could throw their packs in there for hikes and not have them laying at their feet.
 

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First post here...

Current F150 owner, and I can say with zero hesitation I’m bummed about the lack of a flat floor or fold up seat. The loss of storage on the 180kWh pack is also something I’ll need to consider. As a current Tesla owner as well, I think most people will use that storage much more often than they use the extra range. Obviously a personal choice, and depends on what you’ll be using the truck for, but for me the “slam dunk” on getting the big pack just got a bit more complicated...
 

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Seriously? The kids can put their packs in the frunk...or the gear tunnel... or the covered bed.....is this storage under the rear seats that BIG of a deal? This vehicle provides a TON of storage!

Sure, I store some stuff under those rear seats in my Silverado, but if that space wasn't there I wouldn't miss it! Give me the range all day every day. From all the EV owners I know that is the #1 thing they all have in common... "wish I'd gotten the larger battery"..."wish it just had more range"....

With the tons of storage space this vehicle offers, I'm leaning the other way.... "Slam Dunked"!
 
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SharkSisB

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Seriously? The kids can put their packs in the frunk...or the gear tunnel... or the covered bed.....is this storage under the rear seats that BIG of a deal? This vehicle provides a TON of storage!

Sure, I store some stuff under those rear seats in my Silverado, but if that space wasn't there I wouldn't miss it! Give me the range all day every day. From all the EV owners I know that is the #1 thing they all have in common... "wish I'd gotten the larger battery"..."wish it just had more range"....

With the tons of storage space this vehicle offers, I'm leaning the other way.... "Slam Dunked"!
Hi Mark - I started this post a couple of months ago not so much about the loss of/size of storage space under the rear seats, but rather about the design of the rear seats that shows them folding up in a way that doesn't leave a flat floor space exposed. (Post #19 above has photos.) Even if there is a battery pack taking up some of that floor space, for those of us who want a larger volume of interior (weather/theft-protected) cargo space for transporting bikes, big dogs, etc., it makes a difference to have an exposed flat floor space instead of one that is obstructed with little storage boxes. You're right that there is a lot of storage space in the frunk and gear tunnel - which is why I suggest that Rivian doesn't need to provide these small-volume storage spaces under the rear seats and instead could have the seats fold up the opposite direction and expose a flat floor space, even if that floor space is several inches higher because of the larger battery size.
 

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Let's hope that Rivian designers are reading this forum and will consider a design change soon to offer way more interior cargo space by reconfiguring the rear seats. I haven't yet heard a good argument for the current design - does anyone have one to suggest?

For a company with an origin connected to Florida (name is inspired by Indian River near where founder grew up in Florida) I would hope that the need for/benefit of interior cargo space to avoid our crazy hot rainy weather would be obvious. And there's also the security feature of being able to transport expensive large gear (bikes, SCUBA tanks, etc.) inside the lock-able cab rather than in the bed.

Here's how Honda did the rear seats on the Ridgeline:

1597158995275.png
This is Ford's solution to the flat floor and storage under the seats.

Rivian R1T R1S Rear Seat - cargo space/flat floor in the future? SmartSelect_20201125-082856_Gallery
 

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This is Ford's solution to the flat floor and storage under the seats.

SmartSelect_20201125-082856_Gallery.gif
Ford knows what truck owners want. I've owned Ford trucks for my whole adult life and have been super happy with them.

Excited to go EV with the Rivian, but I agree with the thread that the loss of the flat floor is material. I use it mostly for the dogs...they love the extra space, but its also come in handy anytime I've moved or helped someone else move, or have needed the extra protection from the weather. I could fit several large moving boxes on the floor of my f150, I think I put a 65" flat screen back there a couple times, etc.

I do know I'll use that cubby space to store tie-downs, bungies, and other miscellaneous items. But that could also be achieved with seats that fold up like most other trucks.

Also, I hope the production version has beefier hinges than the pics above...those don't look like they are going to hold up to a bigger person scooting across the back seats.
 

Babbuino

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Ford knows what truck owners want. I've owned Ford trucks for my whole adult life and have been super happy with them.

Excited to go EV with the Rivian, but I agree with the thread that the loss of the flat floor is material. I use it mostly for the dogs...they love the extra space, but its also come in handy anytime I've moved or helped someone else move, or have needed the extra protection from the weather. I could fit several large moving boxes on the floor of my f150, I think I put a 65" flat screen back there a couple times, etc.

I do know I'll use that cubby space to store tie-downs, bungies, and other miscellaneous items. But that could also be achieved with seats that fold up like most other trucks.

Also, I hope the production version has beefier hinges than the pics above...those don't look like they are going to hold up to a bigger person scooting across the back seats.
That one is from the F150 hybrid. I believe its already production.
I've heard that with Rivian, that under the seat storage could be use as a cooler, but not sure if that was just a wishlist or an actual production option in the R1T.
Although not having a flat floor in the back seats is what ultimately is pushing me towards the R1S.
 

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But @Babbuino, the R1S doesn't have a flat floor either. I've often wondered about this since at the Mill Valley/SF event, a year ago, I was told repeatedly the R1S would have a perfect flat floor. I'm guessing other projects bumped a redesign of the R1S and R1T floors, and perhaps there are perfectly good reasons, of which we're unaware, why Rivian engineers didn't go with flat floors.

However, on this forum and I suspect in general, more folks want flat floors than not. This is a fairly important miss, I feel, and one of which Rivian was well aware.
 

Babbuino

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But @Babbuino, the R1S doesn't have a flat floor either. I've often wondered about this since at the Mill Valley/SF event, a year ago, I was told repeatedly the R1S would have a perfect flat floor. I'm guessing other projects bumped a redesign of the R1S and R1T floors, and perhaps there are perfectly good reasons, of which we're unaware, why Rivian engineers didn't go with flat floors.

However, on this forum and I suspect in general, more folks want flat floors than not. This is a fairly important miss, I feel, and one of which Rivian was well aware.
With the R1T under the seats storage, my dogs won't fit back there, so I can't really see my self getting the truck...
Supposedly the 3rd row of the R1S will fold almost flat with only 3 degrees slope, if thats the case, then my dogs will fit in the back without a problem. I'll have to change for the 5 seats version if the production 7 seats R1S looks like the prototypes with the 3row folded. I'm still waiting to see this though.
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