Which Winch?

[zipzag]

Anyone install a third party winch yet? Any winch news?

Did Rivian ever say anything about aux lighting, ideally a seamless way to add wiring harnesses for said lighting?

Rivian's accessory approach is unfriendly. They don't provide the electrical hooks like Jeep and Bronco because they want the high margins for themselves. Then they don't actually deliver accessory products.

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[Ralph]

Anyone install a third party winch yet? Any winch news?



Rivian's accessory approach is unfriendly. They don't provide the electrical hooks like Jeep and Bronco because they want the high margins for themselves. Then they don't actually deliver accessory products.

I agree they appear to be unfriendly.

One of the reasons that Jeeps, Tacomas, and some others are so popular for off road / adventure is that people have, or perceive themselves to have different needs. Encouraging a healthy after market that not only allows, but encourages personalization is important.

And the more expensive the base item, the more important that personalization becomes. From Harley's to yachts.

A by-product is all the free advertising you get from vendors of the after market items.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Anyone install a third party winch yet? Any winch news?

I noticed the winch controls are back in 1.7.0. I didn't check previous releases. Could just be that they were refactoring the code to make it work better.
I'm hoping we'll see a big update by Rivian on future features like the winch soon.

 

[Blueassassin]

Hopefully the winch bumper comes with a skid plate that isn’t painted plastic. That has to be one of my biggest disappointments. I thought that was steel or aluminum it’s just silver plastic…

 

[the long way downunder]

Anyone install a third party winch yet? Any winch news?



Rivian's accessory approach is unfriendly. They don't provide the electrical hooks like Jeep and Bronco because they want the high margins for themselves. Then they don't actually deliver accessory products.

You're guessing at motive and assuming technical design details which are not published.

The criticism "unfriendly" could be replaced with "unready" … has Tesla delivered on Jeep-like or Bronco-like accessories … Tesla is unready … Rivian is unready to partner with OEMs for accessories. Whatever the cause or the motive, it's not good, but the problem is exacerbated by piss poor marketing and communications.

For all that Ford has promoted about the Bronco being a Jeep-like experience, does it have the accessory catalog or the integration or are most of the necessary accessories for a Bronco branded by Ford, not third parties.

That said, I'm miffed that Rivian has $17B in cash but can't prioritize a simple f-ing winch or coding and publishing a beta of Tank Turn … it's been most of a year on sale, 4 years since launch and promises of great things to come, and the pattern has been deleting functions and features (no max battery) and the absence of expected design features (heat pump) and crickets (silence on topics of quality) and software increments for froufrou stuff, while still a couple of years behind Tesla on software (app and onboard vehicle.)

 

[KeithPleas]

If you really, really don't want to go off road without a winch you can mount a 12k winch on a tray in the receiver...you'd have to source the 12vdc though and it could be 400-500a. A more reasonable option might be to travel with a kinetic recovery rope and a friend. And maybe a chainsaw in PNW - many times a front winch is used to remove a fallen tree.

 

[the long way downunder]

If you really, really don't want to go off road without a winch you can mount a 12k winch on a tray in the receiver...you'd have to source the 12vdc though and it could be 400-500a. A more reasonable option might be to travel with a kinetic recovery rope and a friend. And maybe a chainsaw in PNW - many times a front winch is used to remove a fallen tree.

For me, as a "creature comforts" off-roader wanting to begin the day with an espresso and end with a meal prepped in a kitchen, not balanced over burning twigs, the front bumper winch is the expedition expediter.

Never having trekked the jungles of Borneo for the Camel Trophy or competed across continents for the Paris Dakar, I don't find amusement in repeating the manual labor of self-recovery.

I like simple off-road touring and getting off the beaten path to enjoy the twilight of opportunity to be alone on this planet.

The winch is the expedition expediter … you encounter an obstacle and weigh the options: "if I get stuck am I in for a few hours of self recovery?" and the answer has to be "worst case, I winch from that anchor point and I'm through here in 20 minutes tops."

If I had to set up a portable winch, run power, deal with the unknowns of winching from a receiver, just getting to set up to winch is 20 minutes and that's a dealbreaker for me.

I don't find repeating the same laborious task to be any form of recreation or relaxation.

I don't find my family is amazed by my perseverance to repeat manual labor while their weekend getaway turns into "stuck in the cabin while stuck in a ditch while driving to where we were meant to be to enjoy this trip." : ) (not that I've ever let that happen to my family … )

 

[zipzag]

If you really, really don't want to go off road without a winch you can mount a 12k winch on a tray in the receiver...you'd have to source the 12vdc though and it could be 400-500a. A more reasonable option might be to travel with a kinetic recovery rope and a friend. And maybe a chainsaw in PNW - many times a front winch is used to remove a fallen tree.

That's my conclusion. A receiver winch powered by a battery in the bed. But its a pathetic solution for an expensive 4x4. And I don't like winching from the back. Not to mention the absurdity of carrying a 12V battery to run a winch a few feet from a 180kWh 400V battery.

A second vehicle makes the winch less important. Although the weight of the Rivian makes recovering with the help of a lighter vehicle more difficult. A Wrangler of Tundra may not be able to extract a loaded down R1T max pack approaching 10K pounds

My practical problem is lack of a second vehicle on a photography trip.

I've done a fair amount of travel in the PNW with my unimog and did bring a chain saw. My unimog taught me to respect the difficulties of recovering a heavy truck compared to a Wrangler.

 

[Dark-Fx]

For me, as a "creature comforts" off-roader wanting to begin the day with an espresso and end with a meal prepped in a kitchen, not balanced over burning twigs, the front bumper winch is the expedition expediter.

Never having trekked the jungles of Borneo for the Camel Trophy or competed across continents for the Paris Dakar, I don't find amusement in repeating the manual labor of self-recovery.

I like simple off-road touring and getting off the beaten path to enjoy the twilight of opportunity to be alone on this planet.

The winch is the expedition expediter … you encounter an obstacle and weigh the options: "if I get stuck am I in for a few hours of self recovery?" and the answer has to be "worst case, I winch from that anchor point and I'm through here in 20 minutes tops."

If I had to set up a portable winch, run power, deal with the unknowns of winching from a receiver, just getting to set up to winch is 20 minutes and that's a dealbreaker for me.

I don't find repeating the same laborious task to be any form of recreation or relaxation.

I don't find my family is amazed by my perseverance to repeat manual labor while their weekend getaway turns into "stuck in the cabin while stuck in a ditch while driving to where we were meant to be to enjoy this trip." : ) (not that I've ever let that happen to my family … )

If it was really that important to you, you would have had one custom installed, no?

 

[zipzag]

A larger winch should have a battery rated at about 650 CCA. The two little Rivian batteries are unlikely to have that rating (combined with the battery charger) unless the vehicle was designed for a large 12V winch. I'm going to guess that Rivian intended the winch to have a different dedicated power supply, a larger battery charger, and/or software that starts the battery charger when the winch is engaged.

If a Rivian winch has its own power supply it would probably be a 24V system.

 

[the long way downunder]

If it was really that important to you, you would have had one custom installed, no?

For now, I'm hesitant given the unconventional structure and materials. If it were a steel chassis, I'd have a "hidden winch" modified and welded in with a 2 inch receiver built into a front skid (my usual design fabricated for previous vehicles.)
The Munro teardown makes it easier to plan, and Rivian has clearly made it happen. I wonder about the details of the new fan position and routing power from those dinky 12V's or upgrading to tougher 12V's.
I have thought about putting a lightweight winch in there. Most recoveries I do for myself or for neighbors are just a matter of moving a few feet uphill to get over some ice or out of the ditch.
I have two sets of quick-fit diamond pattern chains which fit the R1T. I look forward to playing with it in the snow. One of the neighbors has a recovery vehicle and gear.

 

[Zybane]

I'm also seriously concerned about the lack of winch mount options on the Rivian. Any serious off-roader knows a winch is required. Right now as people have said; the only option is a rear receiver tray winch mount that ruins departure angle and some Frankenstein power system.

 

[the long way downunder]

I'm also seriously concerned about the lack of winch mount options on the Rivian. Any serious off-roader knows a winch is required. Right now as people have said; the only option is a rear receiver tray winch mount that ruins departure angle and some Frankenstein power system.

If you look at the various Munro teardown videos, there's simply nowhere for a winch to be mounted in any conventional manner. It would have be behind the cross member that is under the radiator. The cable could then run forward through the crossmember … leaving no direct access to untangle or spool rope onto the winch … no thanks.
For the Rivian seen with a winch, I assume that was a "pre-frunk-shrunk" vehicle with a different radiator placement, perhaps far wider and shorter, not canted, using two fans instead of one. The current system is a mess. Airflow into the frunk compartment has to make 90 degree turns, etc.

I assume all this goes away when the Max Pack arrives, bringing with it a heat pump, fewer components, a wider radiator leaving room below for a winch attached to the front of the cross member, the upper front (between the headlights) being open and the systems being placed on the frunk (e.g. radar) like the Lightning.

The bottom of the radiator is perched on the forward cross member, leaving seemingly nowhere for a winch.

The stamped and welded crossmember between the recovery hooks must be about as stout as the recovery hooks and looks like it was "born" to be a winch location.
I think the frunk-shrunk shifting of the radiator intruded on that space and probably means the winch will require a different (wider, shorter) radiator to accommodate the drum body of the winch. It doesn't look all that difficult, just complicated and involving the radiator, which looks to be a last minute kludge anyway.

So I'm optimistic we see a winch/radiator/pump/max pack in an R1.1 early '23 with an eventual retrofit kit for the R1.0 : )

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