Introducing RMaxx Running Boards & Rock Sliders for Rivian R1T / R1S from Team 1EV

[the_mace]

So I ordered the running boards a short while ago and i'll have a wait, no big deal. I ordered their 4" hole cutter but now in looking at the requirements I need some things:

All kits include a TP55 bit (works in a 7/16" socket) and T20 bit. You will need the following tools (not included):

• Required: 14mm wrench (or socket & ratchet)
• Required: 4mm allen wrench or bit with driver
• Required: 10mm wrench (or socket & ratchet)
• Required: 7/16" socket & ratchet or breaker bar (long 1/2 drive recommended)
• Recommended (optional): Torque wrench for 14mm and 7/16" sockets

Given there are 3 install methods i'm not sure which ones I do/dont need (again i'm not great at this stuff).
I have a 1/2 breaker bar and I have some sockets but no 1/2 sockets and not a torque wrench.
Other than the breaker bar whats the minimum gear I need for the hole cut method?

I'm thinking its a 1/2" torque wrench (as 3/8 etc cant get to the 140lbs), and then 10mm, 11mm (7/16"), and 14mm sockets. Is that right? Sorry for the basic question. I live on a farm, most fixes are duct tape and hammers. But i'm more dangerous on a keyboard.

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[Lizardo]

So I ordered the running boards a short while ago and i'll have a wait, no big deal. I ordered their 4" hole cutter but now in looking at the requirements I need some things:



Given there are 3 install methods i'm not sure which ones I do/dont need (again i'm not great at this stuff).
I have a 1/2 breaker bar and I have some sockets but no 1/2 sockets and not a torque wrench.
Other than the breaker bar whats the minimum gear I need for the hole cut method?

I'm thinking its a 1/2" torque wrench (as 3/8 etc cant get to the 140lbs), and then 10mm, 11mm (7/16"), and 14mm sockets. Is that right? Sorry for the basic question. I live on a farm, most fixes are duct tape and hammers. But i'm more dangerous on a keyboard.

From what I can tell, you will need the torque wrench (they provide the TP55 bit) if you do the 4" hole method.

Not sure on what tool is required for installing the plates on the frame of the running board (mine is still sitting in the box).

 

[OverZealous]

Finally got my boards installed today! I have some photos, and information about the 4" grommets. (TLDR: they won't work!)

First, some finished photos!

Some notes on the install process


I went with the 4" hole method. I actually recommend that, even though (as I'll show below) I couldn't use the 4" grommets I bought.

I bought this cheap hole saw kit off Amazon, because I needed a new arbor for the kit I had anyway. The whole kit was cheaper than just a 4" hole saw without the arbor at Lowe's.

The hole saw was fine for the weird plastic of the panels, but it turns out the arbor's center bit wasn't adjustable. I fixed this by pre-drilling a 1/4" pilot hole (I think, I forget what size I drilled) for the center. I then used a piece of wooden dowel in place of the center bit, which worked perfectly.

Note that the panels have structural ribs running through them. Rather than cutting all the way through, I just snapped off the hole. The also ensured I didn't accidentally scratch up the frame with the hole saw.

Big note about the templates: Make sure you pay attention. Four of them align with an edge, four of them need to be offset by a specific distance.

Luckily for me, I did buy the grommets. They work fine for filling in the mistake hole. Note that I had to clean up the saw edge and cut back the ribs to get the grommet to seat nicely.

Removing the TP55 Bolts

This was really the hardest part of the install for me. You really need either a breaker bar, or a heavy-duty impact driver. I didn't have either (just a normal-duty impact driver), so I had to run out 3 times. Once to get the bar, and twice to get the right 7/16" adapter to hold the TP55 bit. It was very physical work (especially on your back).

Once the bolts were out, I installed the brackets. This is when it became clear the grommets were not going to work. The brackets do not sit inside the body panels as I thought they would. You can see in the photo below, the U-shape in the bracket sticks out past the hole about 1/4" or so, and butts up against the 4" hole.

I did try to shape one of the grommets with scissors, but I don't think it's worth the cost or effort. I'm going to save mine in case I sell the truck and want to keep the rails and plug up the 4" holes. I think they work well for that.

I might try to find some of the tape mentioned earlier on this thread to cover the exposed holes up. I don't mind the look, but I figure it wouldn't hurt to cut down the amount of water or dirt getting in there, and also to help with the aerodynamics some.

Finally, here's a photo of the running board installed from below. You can see my mistake hole, but at least the grommet worked here.

I couldn't push them all the way in like I wanted. I'm not sure if the TP55 bolts were the issue, or just trying to get all 8 side bolts and 4 TP55 bolts to align, but I was hurting pretty bad by the end, so I just tightened everything up and called it good.

Final Thoughts

I don't think this is a very easy install for your "average" person. If you aren't already used to DIY kind of projects, you'll probably have a hard time with this. Not only did it require a fair number of tools, it also requires a lot of figuring out, since there's no instructions (just the templates I had to print myself, and the online video that doesn't really cover most of the tricky parts).

I did do the install myself, though, so it might be easier with help. It took me several hours, but I lost a lot of time trying to get the TP55 bolts out. I think optimally, one person could do this in about 2 hours. Realistically, since this would be your first time, 3-4 hours is a better estimate.

I'm glad I got them. They make getting in-and-out on off-road/highest easy for me, and make getting in-and-out much easier for my 5' 1" wife in general. They also look sharp, and make it easier to reach the roof and even help a little getting into the back of the bed without opening the gear tunnel.

I still recommend the 4" hole method, since I don't see how cutting slots would work at all. And I don't see the point in removing the panels now that I've seen them installed.

(Also, I got a T20 bit in the bag, but I have no idea what it was for. The steps used an allen-key hex bit.)

 

[Eeyore]

(Also, I got a T20 bit in the bag, but I have no idea what it was for. The steps used an allen-key hex bit.)

The T20 bit would be used to remove the panels, which I did. I reasoned that if they couldn't be used with the running board/rock slider combo, then I could leave them off. IF I ever sell mine, I'll take the running boards off and sell them separately and put the plastic plates back on.

 

[Rach]

Has anyone opted for cutting slots vs 4 inch holes? Curious how difficult it was to remove panel and cut the slot.

 

[kizamybute']

Surprised to see so many complaints from the Rivian crowd over timing. Most of us waited YEARS to get the truck. A few months for parts should be nothing to you.

Naturally, they want to sell as many as they can and as quickly as they can. That's how they make money. But, it takes time. Assuming they don't have a 1,000,000 square foot production wharehouse producing a million units a week, it takes a little longer for niche markets like Rivian.

Many companies won't take on building products for Rivian because the market is so small. If 1% of the Rivian owners respond to a particular product, that means investing a fortune in creating a product to appeal to 250 customers. Ford sells 1,000,000 trucks per year. Companies are happy to mass produce items for those. For Rivian, we need smaller companies like TSportline to step up, which they have.

Naturally, we all want what we want and we want it now. But giving them a hard time about timing isn't going to speed up how long it takes to produce items. We need to be happy that they are at least producing them and with a little patience, everyone will get theirs in a reasonable period of time. A few months really isn't all that long in the grand scheme of things.

I'm appreciative that they offered the running boards at a very reasonable price. I don't believe, to date, anyone else has sold and delivered such a product. If not for EV1, I'd still have no running boards, nor would anyone else. You might be in line for ones that cost twice as much, but I'm thankful that they are delivering them and they will come soon.

Because the market is so small, most companies charge a lot more to build products for a niche market. Tsportline is doing so at prices competitive with similar items for mass market trucks.

So, thank you guys for doing all you can do. Look forward to seeing what's next.

 

[the_mace]

Finally got my boards installed today! I have some photos, and information about the 4" grommets. (TLDR: they won't work!)

First, some finished photos!

Some notes on the install process


I went with the 4" hole method. I actually recommend that, even though (as I'll show below) I couldn't use the 4" grommets I bought.

I bought this cheap hole saw kit off Amazon, because I needed a new arbor for the kit I had anyway. The whole kit was cheaper than just a 4" hole saw without the arbor at Lowe's.

The hole saw was fine for the weird plastic of the panels, but it turns out the arbor's center bit wasn't adjustable. I fixed this by pre-drilling a 1/4" pilot hole (I think, I forget what size I drilled) for the center. I then used a piece of wooden dowel in place of the center bit, which worked perfectly.

Note that the panels have structural ribs running through them. Rather than cutting all the way through, I just snapped off the hole. The also ensured I didn't accidentally scratch up the frame with the hole saw.

Big note about the templates: Make sure you pay attention. Four of them align with an edge, four of them need to be offset by a specific distance.

Luckily for me, I did buy the grommets. They work fine for filling in the mistake hole. Note that I had to clean up the saw edge and cut back the ribs to get the grommet to seat nicely.

Removing the TP55 Bolts

This was really the hardest part of the install for me. You really need either a breaker bar, or a heavy-duty impact driver. I didn't have either (just a normal-duty impact driver), so I had to run out 3 times. Once to get the bar, and twice to get the right 7/16" adapter to hold the TP55 bit. It was very physical work (especially on your back).

Once the bolts were out, I installed the brackets. This is when it became clear the grommets were not going to work. The brackets do not sit inside the body panels as I thought they would. You can see in the photo below, the U-shape in the bracket sticks out past the hole about 1/4" or so, and butts up against the 4" hole.

I did try to shape one of the grommets with scissors, but I don't think it's worth the cost or effort. I'm going to save mine in case I sell the truck and want to keep the rails and plug up the 4" holes. I think they work well for that.

I might try to find some of the tape mentioned earlier on this thread to cover the exposed holes up. I don't mind the look, but I figure it wouldn't hurt to cut down the amount of water or dirt getting in there, and also to help with the aerodynamics some.

Finally, here's a photo of the running board installed from below. You can see my mistake hole, but at least the grommet worked here.

I couldn't push them all the way in like I wanted. I'm not sure if the TP55 bolts were the issue, or just trying to get all 8 side bolts and 4 TP55 bolts to align, but I was hurting pretty bad by the end, so I just tightened everything up and called it good.

Final Thoughts

I don't think this is a very easy install for your "average" person. If you aren't already used to DIY kind of projects, you'll probably have a hard time with this. Not only did it require a fair number of tools, it also requires a lot of figuring out, since there's no instructions (just the templates I had to print myself, and the online video that doesn't really cover most of the tricky parts).

I did do the install myself, though, so it might be easier with help. It took me several hours, but I lost a lot of time trying to get the TP55 bolts out. I think optimally, one person could do this in about 2 hours. Realistically, since this would be your first time, 3-4 hours is a better estimate.

I'm glad I got them. They make getting in-and-out on off-road/highest easy for me, and make getting in-and-out much easier for my 5' 1" wife in general. They also look sharp, and make it easier to reach the roof and even help a little getting into the back of the bed without opening the gear tunnel.

I still recommend the 4" hole method, since I don't see how cutting slots would work at all. And I don't see the point in removing the panels now that I've seen them installed.

(Also, I got a T20 bit in the bag, but I have no idea what it was for. The steps used an allen-key hex bit.)

Great write up. My biggest concern with this is putting the holes in the wrong place and it sounds as if it’s not as clear as it could be. Could the paper guides be even better marked to help? It seems they marked to show other elements like screw holes but it’s a design guide vs a user doc

 

[OverZealous]

Great write up. My biggest concern with this is putting the holes in the wrong place and it sounds as if it’s not as clear as it could be. Could the paper guides be even better marked to help? It seems they marked to show other elements like screw holes but it’s a design guide vs a user doc

It's mostly my fault. I read through all of the sheets a few weeks ago when I printed them off, but then I had to put off installing the boards for a few weeks for various reasons.

There's 4 bolt templates per side. Two of them line up against the edge of a panel, and two don't. It's obvious if you lay out the frame first, so you have a rough idea where they go.

The second one from the front is the one I messed up, and I even noticed it looked wrong before drilling, but I didn't trust my intuition and realized later the sheet said place this edge 20" from the front of the panel.

They could improve things. They need proper step-by-step instructions written up to compliment the templates if they want to get these into more people's hands. There's nothing provided with the running boards at all (no documentation). I wrote them to make sure I didn't lose something because my box was partially opened. I apparently have everything, and the only PDF they sent was the templates and some basic tips.

I still take the blame for not being more careful with the templates, but it's not a hard mistake to make.

 

[EV Sportline]

Reminder on instructions -

They are HERE: https://evsportline.com/blogs/news/rivian-r1t-r1s-buyers-guide-to-running-boards-and-rock-sliders

the box also has a QR code on it that says 'scan here for instructions', which takes you to the above link.

These are step-by-step instructions, with a list of tools, and links to the instructional videos

Thanks again!

 

[EV Sportline]

Great write up. My biggest concern with this is putting the holes in the wrong place and it sounds as if it’s not as clear as it could be. Could the paper guides be even better marked to help? It seems they marked to show other elements like screw holes but it’s a design guide vs a user doc

Follow the instructions and if you have any questions, let me know! Yes, the templates are easy to print and they have multiple guiding elements to make sure you place them correctly.

https://evsportline.com/blogs/news/rivian-r1t-r1s-buyers-guide-to-running-boards-and-rock-sliders

 

[the_mace]

Follow the instructions and if you have any questions, let me know! Yes, the templates are easy to print and they have multiple guiding elements to make sure you place them correctly.

https://evsportline.com/blogs/news/rivian-r1t-r1s-buyers-guide-to-running-boards-and-rock-sliders

Will do. I’m pretty far down the order list so just waiting. No worries on the timing just the cutting. I’m not telling my wife as we count projects like this in terms of fingers damaged.

 

[OverZealous]

Reminder on instructions -

They are HERE: https://evsportline.com/blogs/news/rivian-r1t-r1s-buyers-guide-to-running-boards-and-rock-sliders

the box also has a QR code on it that says 'scan here for instructions', which takes you to the above link.

That would have been helpful when I reached out to support. The response only included a PDF of the templates and a link to the video.

I did not see a QR code on the box. Most likely I missed it, but it would be better to just include a piece of paper inside the box with the QR code and basic information. My box came pretty beat up from FedEx (the end was almost completely ripped off).

 

[Lizardo]

Reminder on instructions -

They are HERE: https://evsportline.com/blogs/news/rivian-r1t-r1s-buyers-guide-to-running-boards-and-rock-sliders

the box also has a QR code on it that says 'scan here for instructions', which takes you to the above link.

These are step-by-step instructions, with a list of tools, and links to the instructional videos

Thanks again!

Would not have known about the QR code on the box. Have mine unpacked and box put into bulk trash pick up ...

 

[EV Sportline]

Would not have known about the QR code on the box. Have mine unpacked and box put into bulk trash pick up ...

Instructions also linked on the product page, in this tread, on the videos....thanks gang!

 

[martinb8]

Surprised to see so many complaints from the Rivian crowd over timing. Most of us waited YEARS to get the truck. A few months for parts should be nothing to you.

Naturally, they want to sell as many as they can and as quickly as they can. That's how they make money. But, it takes time. Assuming they don't have a 1,000,000 square foot production wharehouse producing a million units a week, it takes a little longer for niche markets like Rivian.

Many companies won't take on building products for Rivian because the market is so small. If 1% of the Rivian owners respond to a particular product, that means investing a fortune in creating a product to appeal to 250 customers. Ford sells 1,000,000 trucks per year. Companies are happy to mass produce items for those. For Rivian, we need smaller companies like TSportline to step up, which they have.

Naturally, we all want what we want and we want it now. But giving them a hard time about timing isn't going to speed up how long it takes to produce items. We need to be happy that they are at least producing them and with a little patience, everyone will get theirs in a reasonable period of time. A few months really isn't all that long in the grand scheme of things.

I'm appreciative that they offered the running boards at a very reasonable price. I don't believe, to date, anyone else has sold and delivered such a product. If not for EV1, I'd still have no running boards, nor would anyone else. You might be in line for ones that cost twice as much, but I'm thankful that they are delivering them and they will come soon.

Because the market is so small, most companies charge a lot more to build products for a niche market. Tsportline is doing so at prices competitive with similar items for mass market trucks.

So, thank you guys for doing all you can do. Look forward to seeing what's next.

@kizamybute' , I think this biggest issue here is just the pure lack of communication. Yes, thank god I'm on this forum, or I'd be in a blackhole of communication, but most people probably aren't. Add to that, preorders were charged entirely upfront so for some of the earliest preorders, they've now been out upwards of $1,000 or more for something they still don't have after 4 months as opposed to being charged maybe $100 and then the rest upon shipment. Unless you've reached out to the company yourself, they've provided (I think) one mass email update to all preorders and even then that went to spam it sounds like for many people. One would think they could start to provide more precise shipment dates for anyone who preordered by sending them emails and not relying on those customers to reach out. Simply put, communication is key when you're dealing with shifting timelines and holding on to people's money. Being proactive in communication is always far better than being reactive.

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