Will Refresh Include a 240V plug?

[HyperionMark]

Any thoughts or rumors about the refresh upgrading the meager 120V plugs we all have?

Sponsored

 

[yetti96]

I just want more wattage from the 120 we have, or a way to see how much we are pulling.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

I just want more wattage from the 120 we have, or a way to see how much we are pulling.

Yea, a minimum of 2kw for the 120v outlets. But Fords 9.6kw would be very very nice. It would also make it somewhat easier to use that for powering a home.

1.5kw is still useful but you have to be very selective in what appliances you find. 2kw or more would make it much less of an issue IMO.

 

[Riviot]

Any thoughts or rumors about the refresh upgrading the meager 120V plugs we all have?

No

 

[Dark-Fx]

Any thoughts or rumors about the refresh upgrading the meager 120V plugs we all have?

I think Rivian would have to move the inverter, I don't think there's enough room under the front passenger seats for anything with a higher capacity. Maybe if it were purpose built instead of being a purchased part.

I guess they are reducing the amount of computers in the vehicle overall though, so there's always a chance they made room somewhere for a larger one.

 

[Stickboy46]

More powerful 120v make sense .. i'm not sure a 240v is a use case that makes sense for Rivian's target audience.

 

[logan]

More powerful 120v make sense .. i'm not sure a 240v is a use case that makes sense for Rivian's target audience.

I dunno. Just do an image search on Rivian and airstream. Tons of images. That's just for airstreams. Tons of people in Rivian's target audience that have trailers of one sort or another. A lot of beautiful campgrounds don't have hookups. Which is fine if you have a solar panel and lithium batteries but you can really only run the minimum stuff and then it is hit or miss for how long depending on weather.

How nice would it be if you could tap into the huge battery in your tow vehicle and be able to even run the A/C at location in a hot area with no hookups? It'd make a lot more campgrounds friendly to trailers and make dispersed camping a lot more pleasant.

 

[VSG]

Yeah but all that is really an off topic feature request.

The question of what new capabilities are going to exist in the current R1 configurations after the April shutdown is a really simple one.

If there's something that saves money, there's a chance they will do it. The more money it saves, the more likely it will be. If it doesn't save money, the chance is near zero.

In the case of the outlets, I can see where Rivian might have found a new lower-cost supplier for the inverter, or even found a different inverter that was cheaper and/or more efficient. If that's the case, then it's possible Rivian will start shipping vehicles with this new inverter. I guess it's possible that the new inverter can support a higher current at 120V than the old, or that the new inverter also can supply 240V, but cost will be the primary factor - they are not going to switch the inverter just to provide 240V even if it costs the same, because there are other things like the wire size and outlet supplier that they would have to change to support 240V. The only way this is going to happen at this point in time is as a side-effect from a cost-saving change to the inverter.

 

[HyperionMark]

Yeah but all that is really an off topic feature request.

The question of what new capabilities are going to exist in the current R1 configurations after the April shutdown is a really simple one.

If there's something that saves money, there's a chance they will do it. The more money it saves, the more likely it will be. If it doesn't save money, the chance is near zero.

In the case of the outlets, I can see where Rivian might have found a new lower-cost supplier for the inverter, or even found a different inverter that was cheaper and/or more efficient. If that's the case, then it's possible Rivian will start shipping vehicles with this new inverter. I guess it's possible that the new inverter can support a higher current at 120V than the old, or that the new inverter also can supply 240V, but cost will be the primary factor - they are not going to switch the inverter just to provide 240V even if it costs the same, because there are other things like the wire size and outlet supplier that they would have to change to support 240V. The only way this is going to happen at this point in time is as a side-effect from a cost-saving change to the inverter.

Definitely see what you are saying about the cost savings. I realize that is a very high priority for them. But they also may be missing out on some R1T sales by not having 240V. I'm sure it's not a huge number, but a missed sale is a missed sale, and I guarantee it's not zero. Tough to do that math of money saved vs sales with such an unknown number.

 

[usofrob]

Having a 240V output is available on all the other EV trucks. So, this might not be a money maker, but it might be one of the default options that buyers are expecting.

Also, I remember RJ saying in an interview that they realize it was needed, but he may have been referring to having an external DC->AC for home backup type situations. (I don't expect to be able to find the interview again, sorry.)

 

[CharonPDX]

I just want more wattage from the 120 we have, or a way to see how much we are pulling.

Yep. 12A is just that *slight* amount too low. A standard household circuit is 15A, why couldn't they have gone with that? (My teardrop trailer's AC uses 13.5A instantaneous on startup, which trips the Riv's breaker, even though it has no problems on a 15A circuit.

Sponsored