Can he get me an update on my delivery date, or better yet, get me bumped up?
Can he get me an update on my delivery date, or better yet, get me bumped up?
Just dropped my friend off at the airport in it. We stopped to charge, just so I could see how it worked. In 10 minutes we put on about 15 miles of sport mode driving, on a 150kw charger - he said he never uses these unless they're the only ones available, apparently he normally uses a 300kw charger (and at home, the 8 hour charge plugged into 240v... so he basically never has to do this unless he's on a trip). He also is able to tow his 24 foot pontoon about 60 miles round trip, doing 0-60 in less than 4 seconds with it, and doesn't even think about the range.
Keep in mind that his was one of the first production vehicles, so we are seeing some teething issues. First and foremost, the tonneau cover. His has a single motor in the middle that rolls it out. If one side gets off kilter, the entire thing needs to be reset. He basically doesn't use it. They quickly changed that so that each side has a motor. He's waiting on them to have enough that they'll swap his out, but as he works on the factory floor, he has to deal with some of that stuff.
Secondly, the alignment on his and some of the early ones wasn't great. So tire wear is bad on his- with 30k miles on them, they need to be replaced, badly. I'll be careful if I have to drive in any rain. But he drove us to the airport, I drove back, and I really have to question how much of it was his heavy foot and how much was the alignment. I've ridden in a GT3 in an autocross as well as a few a Brunton Stalker... This was easily as fast in a straight line as them. And it is every time he took off... He says it is hard not to do it, you get addicted to it.
But for that first drive... I'm very impressed. I'll leave more impressions later, but would I spend $70k on it? I thought about this for the entire ride home. If I was in the market for a new crew cab, short bed truck... I think so. I would want to drive the F150 lightning before making that statement. But it is a great size, IMHO, somewhere between a midsize and full size, but with super duty numbers. It is really, really nice. If I was dropping new truck money, on something that could tow this much... Well, yeah, I'm struggling to come up with a reason why not. Just plugging in at home instead of filling up is enough reason for me to think hard about it, but it also brings us back to the F150.
More later. Gotta get back to work.
If the truck was already close to full, the charge rate would be pretty slow regardless of charger power. Basically, the closer they are to empty the faster they charge. But you only have to think about that when you're having to charge mid-day, overnight is a reset.
It's definitely easy to get used to EV acceleration. It's a bit like the change from a stick shift to an automatic, it's just so much easier to accelerate hard in the auto without thinking about it.
You need to get a picture of the big hole in front of the rear tire. Some sort of storage bay? I've seen people climb in there.
Toyman! said:In reply to dculberson :
The big question is will the electrics need a $10k+ battery when they are 15 years old?
I would have just as much fear of a 15 year old gas or diesel powered 2022 truck needing a $10k plus repair. I've heard of some doozies, even parts that are no longer available from Ford on younger trucks.
OK, so $70K is half what I paid for my house, but that was before "$30K is the average price of a new car. " I'm not screaming bargain, but the price is clearly not out of line.
Keith Tanner said:In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
Wouldn't you be more interested in muddin' ability, then? I am not clear on my Southern Culture, it wasn't covered in the civics test for citizenship.
I think he's concerned with Southern Culture AND the skids...
tremm said:Cool, any annoying personal complaints? Those things you say, 'what idiot thought that was a good idea?' when you jump into a new car. Like rearview mirror too small, blindspots, large a pillars, buttons in the wrong spots, seatbelt jams into your thigh, etc. It sounds like if the biggest complaint is a tonneau cover motor, it's pretty good.
The only thing I noticed was the seatbelt webbing loop was on my lap. I've never experienced a car where it was noticeable. Otherwise, the annoying complaints that I had were basically things that you would get used to or EV stuff - for instance, the button to open the storage for the center console isn't intuitive. Once I figured it out, it works just as well and just as easy, but it isn't the way I would have done it. For EV stuff, no need to put it in park, you don't turn it on or off really, one-pedal driving (brake pedal is more or less decoration). I'd be nervous about everything being motorized/electronic touch sensor. The charging cap for instance, does a weird movement. Could have just been a door that swings out. But it works, and if I think about the motorized stuff in my life, almost none of it has gone bad.
Kind of bad blind spot looking into the back seat, but no worse than any other modern vehicle. And he has it set up that it is showing you the cars around you on the dashboard. Felt very safe changing lanes in stop and go near O'hare.
Overall the greenhouse feels pretty good. A 6'3" person would fit pretty well in the front seat, but people behind them would be cramped. I am 5'10" with stubby legs (29" inseam). I could easily sit behind myself, and I have a TON of headroom. I did not try to lower the seat. I did not test the backseat though as there are two carseats in it right now.
This seems strange. Never seen webbing this far up.
Seat all the way back and I can stick my short little hooves straight out.
Rear seat room with the seat all the way back.
You would assume you would pull up on this to open it. You don't.
You press either of these buttons:
Geat tunnel, filled with water and softball stuff:
Frunk:
Bed and the spare tire area. He doesn't have one. Mostly uses it as a cooler - it has a drain.
See the air compressor? Nice touch. Other side has outlets.
Tie downs/cross bar things. Also 4 of these on the roof.
In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :
I have a friend who took delivery of his a month ago and he says yes you can.
FYI, I'm going to be wheeling with Bill next Tuesday to see the R1T in action :)
Ooh, how does it feel to drive? I keep hearing Tesla's feel "dead" in their steering due to electric power steering, so how would you compare it?
While they were early production prototypes, I was impressed at the trucks and the company when watching Long Way Up. I liked that you could flat-tow them and charge them up, probably useless in the real world, but who knows.
In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :
Pretty much every car on the market has electric power steering :) If Teslas have dead steering feel, it's something else and I wouldn't assume it would also apply to the Rivian or any other EV. I suspect the biggest problem with the Teslas is too big a tolerance in the factory alignment and thus a lot of car to car variation in toe.
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:While they were early production prototypes, I was impressed at the trucks and the company when watching Long Way Up. I liked that you could flat-tow them and charge them up, probably useless in the real world, but who knows.
Not for RV campers... I did not know that.
GIRTHQUAKE said:Ooh, how does it feel to drive? I keep hearing Tesla's feel "dead" in their steering due to electric power steering, so how would you compare it?
It feels heavy and modern, but solid. I've taken it on 4 short trips, I haven't pushed it whatsoever, but each time I get out of it I am suprised at how impressed I am.
If there is one thing that is persistently catching me a little bit - I'd say bothering or niggling, but both are too strong - it is the "vegan leather". I grew up with my Dad in Mercedes and BMW, I've owned Lexus, I valeted cars at a golf club. I know and like the feel of good leather. The feel of this car - everything about it so far - tells me that the seats should be covered with the hides of cows that have spent their entire life in 59* weather eating grass that was specially grown for them, and they got massages twice a week. It isn't leather. It is a really good seat covering, I'm impressed with it, but there is some cognitive dissonance going on in my head.
I'm hugely impressed by the fit and finish overall. This truck's VIN is 0024. It was one of the first 15 production vehicles off the line (some VINs were pre-production). My wife hasn't successfully closed the door once on the first try. It is very reminiscent of 80s and 90s Mercedes or Lexus, like closing a vault door.
A square foot of dynamat in the door can make a huge difference :) We once had a Miata that had the dynamat on one door and not the other, and it felt like a different car on each side. It makes such a difference in perceived quality I'm amazed it's not standard on all new cars, although I've seen some with some sprayed mass on the inside. One of these days I'm going to stick some in the Vanagon doors so it goes "thunk" instead of "ting".
I'm with you on "vegan leather".
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Ooops, not organic, vegan. You're right.
Got to see one in the flesh a few weeks ago on a 95 degree day. The AC system was extraordinarily loud outside the vehicle. Was a moment of cognitive dissonance climbing out of our old suburban and still hearing the engine fan after I shut it off. Rivian was about 40 feet away but it was that loud...
mtn said:pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:While they were early production prototypes, I was impressed at the trucks and the company when watching Long Way Up. I liked that you could flat-tow them and charge them up, probably useless in the real world, but who knows.
Not for RV campers... I did not know that.
It's my understanding that charging via regen tends to create lots of heat in the battery. It's similar energy flow to fast charging (but I'm not aware of anybody that throttles the energy from regen the same way they do while charging). A non-issue for short stops while driving, and probably no big deal for long downhill grades. But it might be a big deal for extended time frames, or if it's done often over the life of the vehicle. So charging via flat tow should work, but it probably has some pretty detrimental effects the more that it's done.
travellering said:Got to see one in the flesh a few weeks ago on a 95 degree day. The AC system was extraordinarily loud outside the vehicle. Was a moment of cognitive dissonance climbing out of our old suburban and still hearing the engine fan after I shut it off. Rivian was about 40 feet away but it was that loud...
I have noticed that as well, and, it turns on basically as soon as you unlock it. Weird. These are things that I think are EV specific, not Rivian specific.
mtn said:travellering said:Got to see one in the flesh a few weeks ago on a 95 degree day. The AC system was extraordinarily loud outside the vehicle. Was a moment of cognitive dissonance climbing out of our old suburban and still hearing the engine fan after I shut it off. Rivian was about 40 feet away but it was that loud...
I have noticed that as well, and, it turns on basically as soon as you unlock it. Weird. These are things that I think are EV specific, not Rivian specific.
Yeah, the Tesla sounds like it's trying to hover when you trigger the AC on a hot cabin. I suspect it's a similar noise level to an ICE, but you usually have the engine noise masking it.
Had to take my wife to the doctor and have been sitting in here for an hour. I'm liking quite a bit of what is here, and getting used to the infotainment system.
One negative that I've found is the fake wood. It looks really good. It feels like plastic, actually it feels like it's been 3D printed which I suspect it has been. Small thing, but it lends to a feel that doesn't match up with the rest of the car. It doesn't feel cheap. It doesn't feel low quality. It just doesn't feel like I expect it to.
EDIT: Their website says it's real Ash. Interesting. It doesn't feel real to me.
Keith Tanner said:mtn said:travellering said:Got to see one in the flesh a few weeks ago on a 95 degree day. The AC system was extraordinarily loud outside the vehicle. Was a moment of cognitive dissonance climbing out of our old suburban and still hearing the engine fan after I shut it off. Rivian was about 40 feet away but it was that loud...
I have noticed that as well, and, it turns on basically as soon as you unlock it. Weird. These are things that I think are EV specific, not Rivian specific.
Yeah, the Tesla sounds like it's trying to hover when you trigger the AC on a hot cabin. I suspect it's a similar noise level to an ICE, but you usually have the engine noise masking it.
One advantage of an electric compressor is that you can run it full bore all the time, so they do. I bet a belt driven compressor sounds really loud at 2500rpm if you could hear it over the other engine/accessory noises.
We have one in my neighborhood driven my a middle aged housewife. It's larger than I expected. I don't love the look of the truck, but I recently saw the suv and really liked it.
I've been seeing more and more of the Rivian-built electric delivery vans for Amazon come in on truck; they're in production using some crazy number of the same parts, and I wonder how long until I begin to see one at work.
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