The Rivian I Want: A No-Nonsense, Modular, Adventure-Ready EV Truck

[Grognard79]

Hey Rivian team and fellow adventurers,

I absolutely adore my R1T tri-motor. It is hands-down the best vehilce I've ever owned. But I keep thinking about what a truly adventure-ready Rivian could look like. Right now, the R1T is a fantastic truck, but it’s more luxury adventure than no-frills off-roader. What I’d love to see is a Rivian that blends EV innovation with the raw capability and modularity of a Jeep—a truck that’s rugged, simple, and built to be modified.

The Truck I Want:

Affordable – A real adventure truck shouldn’t break the bank. Something in the $60K-$70K range, making it competitive with a Jeep Wrangler 4xe or Tacoma TRD Pro. We don’t need luxury leather, wood grain, and fancy software—just solid engineering and off-road capability.

A Modifiable Platform – Rivian should embrace the aftermarket and build a platform that’s easy to modify, not one that makes third-party upgrades difficult. Think modular body panels, universal mounting points, and factory support for lift kits, bigger tires, and customizations. Let people build the adventure rig they want!

Truly Built for Adventure – I shouldn’t be terrified that a minor dent is going to be a $15K repair bill. Give us more durable, repairable body panels (steel, aluminum, or even modular plastic options like Jeep). Make it tough and field-serviceable—if something mechanical breaks, I should be able to fix it with basic tools and a welder.

Keep It Simple – No fancy automated luxuries. Manual charging door, manual everything. The fewer motors and actuators, the better. A truck should be tough and reliable, not an electrical nightmare.

Basic Driver Assist, Nothing More – I don’t need 30+ sensors and an AI co-pilot. A basic, effective driver-assist system (adaptive cruise, lane keep assist) is all that’s needed. Frankly, the Kia rental I drove recently had a smoother system than my Rivian.

Real Off-Road Capabilities –
• Manual lockers – We need true mechanical lockers, not just software tricks.
• Smaller wheels, bigger tires – The stock 20” wheels and Pirelli tires are simply not that great for off-roading. It should be factory-equipped to run 35”+ tires, and it should be liftable without causing software headaches.
• Heavy-duty bumpers – Integrated, steel bumpers with tow points. Protect the vehicle from damage, especially in low-speed technical terrain.
• No glass roof – Cool gimmick, but useless for serious adventuring. A reinforced metal roof would be lighter, stronger, and more practical for mounting accessories like roof racks and rooftop tents.

Reserve Battery for Remote Rescues – Running out of charge deep in the backcountry is a real risk, and one of the main reasons people are not ready for a full EV off-roader. Instead of waiting for a tow truck, why not have a removable, modular battery pack with 25-50 miles of range? Something you can carry to a charger, plug in, and get yourself out of trouble. That would be a game-changer for off-road EV travel.

The Bottom Line

Rivian has an opportunity to create an EV overlander’s dream truck—a no-nonsense, trail-capable rig that doesn’t need to be babied. Think of it like a Jeep Wrangler, but electric. If Rivian can deliver this, it would dominate the adventure and overlanding space in a way no EV has yet.

Who else wants to see something like this? What would you add to the list?

Sponsored

 

[Nixapatfan]

You just described Scout

 

[Grognard79]

You just described Scout

Maybe you're right, but I'm not convinced yet.

 

[mpshizzle]

Sounds to me like a Toyota Tacoma!

That said - even though Toyota is normally known for "no frills" off roading, they are more and more adding luxury/tech features to their platform. They've even stolen a page from R1T's book by adding a built in Bluetooth speaker, a built in flashlight, and built in air compressor to their 2025 model. Consumers seem to like the tech/luxury gimmicks, and these companies respond

 

[Dark-Fx]

Sounds like something the market wouldn't want to produce.

But it's a free market, perhaps start your own auto company?

 

[cwintermeyer]

You just described Scout

Nailed it.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

A removable battery pack would weigh hundreds of pounds if not thousands. It would be unrealistic to carry that anywhere.

 

[Grognard79]

A removable battery pack would weigh hundreds of pounds if not thousands. It would be unrealistic to carry that anywhere.

A ~10 kWh pack would weigh ~130 lbs. Not too hard to load that onto someone else's rig, take to a charger, and come back with enough juice to get out.

 

[COdogman]

Let's see how much those Scout vehicles ACTUALLY cost in 2029, if and when they are finally built. They have the luxury of being a concept still. They can put all kinds of cool stuff out there and they don't have to worry about whether it works or is cost effective.

 

[LMI - R1T]

 

[f1racer328]

A ~10 kWh pack would weigh ~130 lbs. Not too hard to load that onto someone else's rig, take to a charger, and come back with enough juice to get out.

You would be better off just tow charging your Rivian if necessary. Easy to find someone wanting to pull shit with their pickup truck if you're not in the middle of nowhere.

 

[NY_Rob]

A ~10 kWh pack would weigh ~130 lbs. Not too hard to load that onto someone else's rig, take to a charger, and come back with enough juice to get out.

Not even close to 130lbs...

My Jeep has a 17kWh battery that consists of 96 Samsung SDI cells that weigh in at 2.1kg per cell. Just the cells weigh 96X2.1kg = 445lbs and that's not including casing, connectors, etc..
For a 10kWh 400 volt pack + case you're probably close to 300lbs minimum as the 56 cells alone would weigh in at 262 lbs.

 

[Grognard79]

You would be better off just tow charging your Rivian if necessary. Easy to find someone wanting to pull shit with their pickup truck if you're not in the middle of nowhere.

That could work if you have a relatively flat and non-technical route for towing, but if you're up in the mountains with steep grades and technical sections, that's probably not going to work because you're aren't going to be doing more than a couple miles and hour, and you're probably not going to find a vehicle that could tow a 7,000 lb. truck with regenerative breaking through that terrain anyway.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Someone doesn’t understand the Rivian brand. Still.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

You just described Scout

Scout will not be affordable or modular. It will be another luxury truck that VW can make a profit on. That’s why they bought the IP.

The reason automakers like Ford and GM continue to make money is because they overcharge for trucks and SUVs. Those vehicles have the highest profit margins.

Sponsored