Time for a Lube Party... Dry Lube = answer to the tonneau cover issues

[SherpaDog]

I just got my delivery last Friday - love the truck - but sadly the power tonneau is inoperable. The person who did the delivery told me they are updating the system to a 2 motor system to eliminate issues with internal cables and 1 motor. I think the design is certainly innovative, but would have thought it went through more rigorous testing before they shipped.

My issue: The slats separated greatly with one side advancing faster than the other side when we tried to close the tonneau. We thenmanually pushed the tonneau back into the open position.

Does anyone think lube can correct my issue? If so, where/what elements of the system have you been lubricating?

I am hoping I can get this thing working - even if not perfectly - while I wait for the replacement.

Thanks for the help

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[Acoustic71]

I just got my delivery last Friday - love the truck - but sadly the power tonneau is inoperable. The person who did the delivery told me they are updating the system to a 2 motor system to eliminate issues with internal cables and 1 motor. I think the design is certainly innovative, but would have thought it went through more rigorous testing before they shipped.

My issue: The slats separated greatly with one side advancing faster than the other side when we tried to close the tonneau. We thenmanually pushed the tonneau back into the open position.

Does anyone think lube can correct my issue? If so, where/what elements of the system have you been lubricating?

I am hoping I can get this thing working - even if not perfectly - while I wait for the replacement.

Thanks for the help

It's all here in this very thread. You just need to slog through it. Many options and opinions await!

 

[Brewbud]

Don't know how I missed the Dry Lube party invite. I used graphite lube powder for locks on mine when I first got it. It definitely helped. Now I need to go find some dry lube. I used to have a can of dry chain lube. Think I used it all up.

 

[SherpaDog]

Another anecdote that doesn't prove a damn thing... I'd also read in the forums some rumors that a new tonneau design was implemented somewhere around VIN 8k or 9k. Mine being 85xx, I was hopeful.

When I picked up my truck, tonneau was dead from the start. It's closed and won't budge and the delivery specialist was surprised I was never informed. I mentioned the rumor I heard and how I hoped mine hit the cut-off, she said in her experience, VINs 10k and up are where she's seeing more functional tonneaus. Curious how it is for forum members, if those with VINs 10k and higher are having more success with their covers.

My Vin is 11XXX and tonneau DOA when I got the vehicle ... waiting for service next week.

The delivery person did say they have a replacement coming which will have 2 motors instead of 1?

I'm going to try the lube thing tomorrow to see if i can get it to work while i wait for the replacement



Update: I went to lube the cover and found the source of my problem is a damaged channel on the one side. I was clearly damaged before install. Apparently the service Ctr is familiar with the issue, so I am not alone ...

If you are having issues, I would check the track channels before wasting your time on lube or other ticks to get it working ..

 

[Freelard]

Jerry Rig Everything did a video with Sandy Munro on the R1T tear-down. They discuss the design of the tonneau mechanism at about the 5:00 mark. Pretty interesting to pull back the curtain.



I'm about the farthest thing from an automotive engineer but it looks like spraying lube between the slats won't do much other than get lube in your eyes. I hit the rails with CRC every few weeks when the thought occurs to me and it seems to complain a lot less after I do.

 

[Engi_Nerd]

Rivian should have shipped the trucks without the tonneau and promised to provide a solution by year's end. Sending your first 10K units out into the world with a large visible component that fails pretty much immediately for all to see is a great way to step on your crank. This approach also would have allowed third parties to offer something.

Regarding the redesign, IMO there is no way to design a cost-effective sliding and stacking mechanism sized for the current cavity that will be robust in the real world. Sure an inlet brush would help, but at the end of the day, requiring the entire surface of the cover to be clean to be able to access all of your bed is a poor design. I personally expect they abandon the power cover and move to only offering a manual cover, though the fact that they haven't shown even a concept sketch for how that will work is a bit mystifying.

Called it!

 

[domoplaytime]

Called it!

Nice!

and promised to provide a solution by year's end

Partial credit.

Sending your first 10K units out into the world with a large visible component that fails pretty much immediately for all to see is a great way to step on your crank.

Yep. Rivian seems to be internalizing this. They've decided they don't want to deliver a camp kitchen that fails in the rain.

I wonder if their upcoming e-bike will ship last minute without a bike seat. I'll be back here later to claim I called it.

 

[NY_Rob]

A lot of members called it very early on based on the straining/creaking sounds they heard and jerky movement they saw from the covers on the First Ride trucks. Then there were press events and even photo ops with the covers physically disabled.. that raised even more suspicion.

People here were also skeptical of the huge one-piece panoramic glass roof... they may have been correct about that too as there have already been failures not attributed to having 110lb women pose for photos on the roof.

 

[jebinc]

I am in the late 9900's and it's still working, granted I have been trying to minimize its use. It did start making some grinding sounds but after I joined the lube party that seemed to help.

Same 991x. All good and all dry lubed!

 

[jebinc]

I wonder if their upcoming e-bike will ship last minute without a bike seat. I'll be back here later to claim I called it.

Well, if it does, a copious amount of lube will be required for the seat post, before each and every ride!

 

[Atlrivian]

Two months in and still working. I lubed the snot out of it about a month in. Use the cover maybe once/twice a week. Try to retract it all the way.

 

[joelster]

FYI, avoid the Blaster brand dry lube. I had trouble finding dry lube and I couldn't find the wd-40 dry lube anywhere. On about my sixth attempt, I found a can of Blaster Dry-Lube so I decided to give it a try. While I know that the PTFE is colorless, the fluid that delivers it is white and will stain the crap out of the plastic bits in your truck bed. Just a heads up.

 

[kayabusa]

I just got me new used Rivian, with only 85 miles and I have a question for all regarding the Tonneau cover being stuck. If we all know that the cover will eventually get stuck, can we help the cover retract pushing it with one hand ? I know is not ideal, but we can still using it in the meantime they find a soluttion.....

 

[AllInev]

Two months in and still working. I lubed the snot out of it about a month in. Use the cover maybe once/twice a week. Try to retract it all the way.

I’m 3.5+ months in and it’s also still working. I dry lube every few weeks. Not sure if that’s what’s keeping it going, but it only takes two minutes so I’ll keep doing it until Rivian’s solution arrives.

 

[CharonPDX]

I just got me new used Rivian, with only 85 miles and I have a question for all regarding the Tonneau cover being stuck. If we all know that the cover will eventually get stuck, can we help the cover retract pushing it with one hand ? I know is not ideal, but we can still using it in the meantime they find a soluttion.....

I found that it isn't "pushing it in" that helps, it's "pushing up on the back of the last panel" that helps. It's that the panels don't stack nicely, (especially the last panel) so guiding it so that it actually goes up and over the second-to-last panel as it retracts is key to it retracting properly.

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