Tonneau Cover : manual or powered

[Marty]

Anybody here that has ordered a R1T debating the manual or powered tonneau cover? My thinking is just that with ammount of snow / ice / whatever mother nature throws at us, the powered tonneau cover may get jammed or frozen?

Any opinion on that?

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[KiloV]

My biggest reliability concern is the powered bed cover. That's not based on any facts. We don't yet know how that thing will actually perform, of course. I don't park mine outside, so it doesn't bear the brunt of snow and ice and UV rays beating down on it (fading has been a problem for me on bed covers of the past). Consequently, mine will probably have the best chance for long term survival; but, if I were betting on it, I would wager that the first major mechanical blowup will likely be with that powered bed cover. The powered bed cover came bundled on mine, though, so we'll see.

 

[COdogman]

I would be shocked if those powered tonneau covers last more than a couple years with normal truck use. I've never had good experiences with moving parts that spend that much time outside in the elements. At least here in CO or when I lived in NYC/ PA for a time. Dust, debris, weather all just wear everything down much quicker than you think.

 

[Inkedsphynx]

Eh, it's covered under warranty so if it breaks, I'll make Rivian come to my apartment and fix it on the street in downtown Seattle. Seems fair.

I think, unless you're using it constantly or parking your truck outside, it won't be as much of an issue. I won't need to use it all that often so I'm intending to just keep it closed most of the time. I park in a garage so it won't be constantly exposed to the elements. When I go offroading/overlanding, I'll just be sure to give it a really good hose down and blow out with the air compressor when I return before doing any open/close operations. While on the trip, I'll just blow any cracks/gunk out with the air compressor.

 

[crashmtb]

Eh, it's covered under warranty so if it breaks, I'll make Rivian come to my apartment and fix it on the street in downtown Seattle. Seems fair.

I think, unless you're using it constantly or parking your truck outside, it won't be as much of an issue. I won't need to use it all that often so I'm intending to just keep it closed most of the time. I park in a garage so it won't be constantly exposed to the elements. When I go offroading/overlanding, I'll just be sure to give it a really good hose down and blow out with the air compressor when I return before doing any open/close operations. While on the trip, I'll just blow any cracks/gunk out with the air compressor.

It might be a bigger issue in Quebec City. A lot of winter there. ?

I’m opting for the power tonneau There will be 5 years of warranty coverage. And I’m not worried about excessive snow accumulation, because….I clear off all the snow before driving.

I don’t expect it to be any worse than power windows, as far as freezing up in winter goes.

the convenience of pushing a button outweighs any possible negatives for me.

 

[Ralph]

Primarily due to maintenance concerns, I too was concerned about the powered bed cover. Seems to me a lot of opportunity for various things to "clog up the works". In addition to snow and ice, there are twigs, pine needles, nuts, something somebody sets on the cover, etc.

I was also not thrilled with the idea of all the moving parts (rollers, motors, etc.) in the powered unit. Part of the attraction to EVs to me is that they provide the opportunity of decreased maintenance over ICE due to the reduction in mechanical, friction/wear items. Sometimes elegance is simple and I plan on keeping the R1T for 10 years.

But the powered unit was/is included in the price when I purchased so I'm more than willing to see how it performs. That is unless they want to give me a credit from the original price to delete; which is very unlikely. At this point I'm willing to be convinced the convenience balances the equation.

FWIW, I became less concerned after learning that the manual uses the same channel. If the powered becomes a pain, it'll get removed and I'll either do without or add a manual; Rivian or after market.

Now, if I had to pay the new premium price for either, I'm not sure what I would do.

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