First Time Taking Our R1S on a Trail

[SoCal Rob]

I wasn't really planning to make a video so this was shot on my phone through the windshield, sorry about the bugs! My camera work is shaky, and my video editing skills are... barely adequate. Still, I figured I'd share my experience.

This wasn't a challenging trail for the most part. My take-away is that in these circumstances our R1S behaves exactly like our former Land Rover LR3 which had locking center and rear differentials plus good traction control, all managed by the vehicle depending upon drive mode chosen. Basically, if you're used to letting the vehicle manage the traction then this should be a familiar experience.

Sponsored

 

[Donald Stanfield]

I was looking forward to your review on off-roading.

 

[SoCal Rob]

This was mild compared to some places we go. We just wanted to see how things went close enough to pavement that we’d have an easy hike out if we broke something. This was also a test of driving the Rivian the same way we drove our LR3 in similar conditions. We weren’t on deep loose sand and the rocks were pretty harmless-looking so we didn’t even air down. We’ll build up to more interesting/challenging drives. I tend to be pretty cautious and our goal is to see cool stuff without breaking anything.

 

[COdogman]

I'm just impressed you didn't flip it going that slowly.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

This was mild compared to some places we go. We just wanted to see how things went close enough to pavement that we’d have an easy hike out if we broke something. This was also a test of driving the Rivian the same way we drove our LR3 in similar conditions. We weren’t on deep loose sand and the rocks were pretty harmless-looking so we didn’t even air down. We’ll build up to more interesting/challenging drives. I tend to be pretty cautious and our goal is to see cool stuff without breaking anything.

Yeah the underlined part is always my goal as well. Last time I went to Windrock though I did break the wheel off my Dad's UTV. Oops.

 

[SoCal Rob]

I'm just impressed you didn't flip it going that slowly.

It must’ve been because we weren’t on a flat field. I hear those are the most treacherous in a Rivian!

 

[Crashvt]

Did you have a spare? That is the only thing holding me back

 

[SoCal Rob]

Did you have a spare? That is the only thing holding me back

We only have the inflatable spare kit so far, which is why we never got more than about a mile from pavement. I'm trying to buy a matching AT wheel with TPMS sensor and tire from Rivian. I'm not sure the person I spoke to fully understands that I don't want a spare tire kit from an R1T, which would give me a second set of tire change accessories I don't need.

My goal is to keep the R1S inflatable spare kit onboard for local driving and remove everything before going on an off-road trip or long road trip. Then I'd have a full-size spare in the cargo area (flat if in 2-row config or vertically behind 3rd row) plus the jacking pucks, suitable bottle jack, and large breaker bar for lug nut removal. I think this is about as good as it gets for our use cases.

Sponsored