Need post test drive advice on powered tonneau cover

[Firewired]

I am coming from 9 years of Tesla ownership, and have had a pre-order in for an R1T for about 6 months, unfortunately right after the price hike. I am coming from a Performance 3 and a P100D. Yesterday I finally got to do the test drive, and I am beyond impressed. In addition to my Tesla, I currently have a leased Tacoma that I use for hauling things, etc, and I have no doubt that the R1T is the best of all worlds for me, and I am no longer interested in the Cybertruck.

I wanted to get people's advice about timing. For me, the tonneau cover is really important, I really want to be able to put things in the bed and have them covered when on the road or taking trips. I currently see people listing/flipping what I assume are pre-price him R1Ts for at or less than what I will pay when I put my order in. A functional bed cover is really important to me for my use case, from what others are hearing, is it best to sit tight and see how it pans out, or is Rivian reported to include the generation 1 tonneau cover owners in the future fix?

Thanks for any insight.

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[godfodder0901]

I am coming from 9 years of Tesla ownership, and have had a pre-order in for an R1T for about 6 months, unfortunately right after the price hike. I am coming from a Performance 3 and a P100D. Yesterday I finally got to do the test drive, and I am beyond impressed. In addition to my Tesla, I currently have a leased Tacoma that I use for hauling things, etc, and I have no doubt that the R1T is the best of all worlds for me, and I am no longer interested in the Cybertruck.

I wanted to get people's advice about timing. For me, the tonneau cover is really important, I really want to be able to put things in the bed and have them covered when on the road or taking trips. I currently see people listing/flipping what I assume are pre-price him R1Ts for at or less than what I will pay when I put my order in. A functional bed cover is really important to me for my use case, from what others are hearing, is it best to sit tight and see how it pans out, or is Rivian reported to include the generation 1 tonneau cover owners in the future fix?

Thanks for any insight.

There is a little confusion on this topic, but I am fairly certain Rivian will replace all existing covers with the new design. It does not make any sense for them to keep parts and suppliers to support a few thousand units with an older design that is prone to failure. I have an OG LE powered tonneau and fully expect it to be replaced.

 

[COdogman]

Rivian has so far promised to replace any non-functioning tonneaus once the redesign/ fix/ whatever is ready, which they have told some will happen in Q1 2023. There are still quite a few folks who’ve never had any issues with their tonneaus, while others‘ broke the first time they used it after taking delivery. The service centers are disabling most just to avoid future service calls until the solution is finalized.

 

[madgrey]

The R1T loaner I picked up at the SC on Wednesday had a misaligned, stuck open tonneau. The advisor guy remarked that he can't wait until the replacements come in.

 

[AdamUCF]

I really like the powered tonneau and glad mine has it. It's such a cool feature and mine is working better than ever. It used to clunk and crunch when it closed but either the graphite lube or it all breaking in has made it sound a lot better. It's a warranty component. If you bought a used R1T, Rivian would repair/replace it (once the fix is ready) as with any other part of the truck. It's not clear if they will preemptively replace working tonneaus but if it's working why bother.

 

[Prime]

Remember that all R1T’s also have the rails for now so a manual cover option directly from Rivian is in the works so you’ll be able to have lockable storage in the bed. That said, at current used prices I don’t see the benefit of paying more money for a newer R1T with less features (removal of 12V in frunk, removal of wood accents on back of front seats, no current option for powered tonneau), especially if you can grab a launch edition.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

I want the powered tonneau for convenience, but with the likelihood of the refresh just being a second motor or rework of the drive shaft, I'm not confident the interlocking panels would stand up to dirt and debris over time.

 

[goldburger]

I want the powered tonneau for convenience, but with the likelihood of the refresh just being a second motor or rework of the drive shaft, I'm not confident the interlocking panels would stand up to dirt and debris over time.

I have huge elm trees at my house and my truck gets absolutely covered in leaves during the fall and winter— once I start driving they all blow away but there has definitely been leaves and some smaller sticks that have made it into the storage area for the slats. Really unnerving to think about tbh. I try to barely use my tonneau tho and have yet to go all the way open. It sounds awful lol.

 

[ja_kub_sz]

I am coming from 9 years of Tesla ownership, and have had a pre-order in for an R1T for about 6 months, unfortunately right after the price hike. I am coming from a Performance 3 and a P100D. Yesterday I finally got to do the test drive, and I am beyond impressed. In addition to my Tesla, I currently have a leased Tacoma that I use for hauling things, etc, and I have no doubt that the R1T is the best of all worlds for me, and I am no longer interested in the Cybertruck.

I wanted to get people's advice about timing. For me, the tonneau cover is really important, I really want to be able to put things in the bed and have them covered when on the road or taking trips. I currently see people listing/flipping what I assume are pre-price him R1Ts for at or less than what I will pay when I put my order in. A functional bed cover is really important to me for my use case, from what others are hearing, is it best to sit tight and see how it pans out, or is Rivian reported to include the generation 1 tonneau cover owners in the future fix?

Thanks for any insight.

I 100% wanted/love the powered bed cover. Both my trucks have it, and I wouldn't opt for anything else.

But is it "must have" feature?

More of me says no then yes.

Here's my short list why...

When it snows and and is really cold I wouldn't recommend using it. Honestly I question if it would even work an open or otherwise it'd be frozen shut.

Water builds up on it and if you open it the water still going to fall into your bed. There are other solid one piece tonneau covers that can pop right up that probably do a better job of preventing that.

The current powered tonneau cover requires a decent amount of maintenance and cleaning of the tracks, and spraying with lubricant. I'm sure there's far more lower maintenance options out there.

As for waiting to see if they bring it back, I honestly think you just have a better chance of buying a used R1T, if you really wanted it right now. I've honestly heard more and more that they won't be offering the power tonneau cover in any iteration for future models. Rivian will just be retrofitting all the previous ones with a two motor version.

I do really like it though, and I absolutely would have had second thoughts on the truck if the bed had remain open all the time.

 

[robertrivian]

Remember that all R1T’s also have the rails for now so a manual cover option directly from Rivian is in the works so you’ll be able to have lockable storage in the bed. That said, at current used prices I don’t see the benefit of paying more money for a newer R1T with less features (removal of 12V in frunk, removal of wood accents on back of front seats, no current option for powered tonneau), especially if you can grab a launch edition.

Hi, where did you hear that the wood accents on the back of the front seats have been removed by Rivian? I was not aware of that happening. Is that only on the full vegan dash or would it include the wood dash as well?

 

[RivianRiverRat]

Hi, where did you hear that the wood accents on the back of the front seats have been removed by Rivian? I was not aware of that happening. Is that only on the full vegan dash or would it include the wood dash as well?

My R1T delivered 12-26-22 BM interior with wood grain dash and front door wood trim
The trim in the back of the headrest at the charging port and hook is plastic trim not wood grain

 

[sub]

If this is a make or break it feature I would wait. Buying a vehicle based on features you hope will be added seems foolish to me.

 

[Firewired]

If this is a make or break it feature I would wait. Buying a vehicle based on features you hope will be added seems foolish to me.

I appreciate the sentiment. I keep going back or forth. Tonneau is really my only have-to. I do think that Rivian will likely have some sort of fix for generation 1 covers. I am a little swayed by finding vehicles, that have the 12V up front, which I intended for my travel cooler, as well as I really thought the wood trim on the seat backs was nice during our test drive.

Did they also remove the lights in the truck bed?

 

[Prime]

Hi, where did you hear that the wood accents on the back of the front seats have been removed by Rivian? I was not aware of that happening. Is that only on the full vegan dash or would it include the wood dash as well?

This is confirmed by many taking R1S and R1T deliveries regardless of dash. Apparently Rivian did this to streamline production of the backing of the seats so all are the same. Definitely a design feature I appreciated and disappointed they removed. Change occurred for late 2022 builds and I’m assuming will continue due to cost cutting.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

I appreciate the sentiment. I keep going back or forth. Tonneau is really my only have-to. I do think that Rivian will likely have some sort of fix for generation 1 covers. I am a little swayed by finding vehicles, that have the 12V up front, which I intended for my travel cooler, as well as I really thought the wood trim on the seat backs was nice during our test drive.

Did they also remove the lights in the truck bed?

Only changes currently between older and new models is no 12v plug in the frunk, no power tonneau option, and trim behind headrests is plastic not wood (no biggie).

Bed lights and all others are still intact.

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