Rivian Commercial Vans now open for fleet sales to all businesses, deliveries start in April

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

What's the range? Gut it and turn into a travel van?

There isn't much to gut. https://rivian.com/fleet. Add all the things you'd want in a RV, you're probably looking at 100 mi or worse for range. The platform was designed to meet last-mile delivery needs, where weight become less and less of an issues towards the end of each day and the vehicle at idle, between stops, for portion of that daily routine. It wasn't engineered for RV use (where range is more important and weight remains mostly constant).

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[Yossarian]

This is good news.

I see very little in the way of expanded public charging for the next few years, which will almost certainly dampen passenger EV sales during that time. Delivery vans that operate locally, and so don't need to use public charging, could be important in allowing Rivian to weather the downturn, and perhaps even thrive, until things change.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

Does this mean that we can expect to see overlanding van conversions/camper soon?

Would love to see one of the upfitters find a way to incorporate a range extender into it. That would make for an intriguing option for overlanding.

 

[Laserboy1054]

Imagine blacked out Rivian SWAT vans... silent approach.

I'm not sure how the laws would work on that. I know there are regulations requiring that EVs make sounds for safety (which, as a bicyclist, I appreciate!). I presume a law-enforcement vehicle could get an exemption to this. Did the folks who wrote the regs think of that possibility? I have no idea.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I'm not sure how the laws would work on that. I know there are regulations requiring that EVs make sounds for safety (which, as a bicyclist, I appreciate!). I presume a law-enforcement vehicle could get an exemption to this. Did the folks who wrote the regs think of that possibility? I have no idea.

When inside a house/building, it's not that audible... but it wouldn't be that difficult to put a switch on the emitter.

 

[SANZC02]

There isn't much to gut. https://rivian.com/fleet. Add all the things you'd want in a RV, you're probably looking at 100 mi or worse for range. The platform was designed to meet last-mile delivery needs, where weight become less and less of an issues towards the end of each day and the vehicle at idle, between stops, for portion of that daily routine. It wasn't engineered for RV use (where range is more important and weight remains mostly constant).

I would think if some coach builders show interest they could easily configure these with more range and all wheel drive.

The current range numbers of 161/153 are for 100 kWh LFP batteries so they are getting around 1.5 miles per kWh.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

AWD would only reduce efficiency and range, not increase it. For RV use, two things stand in the way: energy density of battery chemistry and aero efficiency. Charging network can’t improve in a hurry so that can’t be helped. Given today's battery tech (what's widely available), I think a EREV is probably more realistic for RVs. But, that's not a space Rivian plays in.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

Given today's battery tech (what's widely available), I think a EREV is probably more realistic for RVs. But, that's not a space Rivian plays in.

Some of the upfitters get pretty advanced with the electrical systems that they put into the vans. My FIL has a Boldt that has a large (for an RV) battery pack with a second alternator that charges the battery as they drive. I would think that if there are upfitters doing that level of work, someone could figure out an add-in system to add EREV capability to the RDV. The question to me is whether there would be sufficient demand to justify developing the system.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Some of the upfitters get pretty advanced with the electrical systems that they put into the vans. My FIL has a Boldt that has a large (for an RV) battery pack with a second alternator that charges the battery as they drive. I would think that if there are upfitters doing that level of work, someone could figure out an add-in system to add EREV capability to the RDV. The question to me is whether there would be sufficient demand to justify developing the system.

Oh yeah, it would be very expensive. Look at the Pebble Flow, $109.5k. And that's just a trailer.

 

[mkg3]

There is a Brightdrop 600 van converted to a RV. In that case, they extended the range of BD600 (170 miles) to 250 miles AWD, according to the article:

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2024-grounded-g2-ev-camper-brightdrop-zevo-600-first-look/

It seems to me that EDV is an clean canvas that people can do a lot with.

 

[Riviot]

Here's the strange, but sensible when you think for more than 2 seconds, part: the smaller van has a 400lb higher payload.

Which would be more desirable for a camper build? More sense or more payload?

 

[Rivdog]

Here's the strange, but sensible when you think for more than 2 seconds, part: the smaller van has a 400lb higher payload.

Which would be more desirable for a camper build? More sense or more payload?

YMMV, but I’d take the extra 30 inches over additional payload, but the price difference isn’t clear. The range is insufficient for anything other than established campgrounds with an RV hookup though.

edit: fixed my dumbness (here, at least).

 

[Riviot]

YMMV, but I’d take the extra 30 inches and additional payload, but the price difference isn’t clear. The range is insufficient for anything other than established campgrounds with an RV hookup though.

It's more space or more payload, there's a trade-off. You can't have bolth.

Edit to add: didn't mean to sound snarky! I thought it was @COdogman responding, so snark is my default.

 

[Rivdog]

It's more space or more payload, there's a trade-off. You can't have bolth.

Edit to add: didn't mean to sound snarky! I thought it was @COdogman responding, so snark is my default.

Ugh, yep, I feel like a dummy now that I re-read the specs. I pulled the 2025 docs from Rivian and it’s a little different, but yeah, you choose length or payload. Based on my builds, I’d pick space over the extra payload because I can make a lighter, more efficient build but I can’t add more space for a bigger bed, etc.

 

[Rivdog]

It's more space or more payload, there's a trade-off. You can't have bolth.

Edit to add: didn't mean to sound snarky! I thought it was @COdogman responding, so snark is my default.

Also, I’m honored to be mistaken for @COdogman - I didn’t respond with a .gif so that should have been a dead giveaway.

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