Gear Tunnel Confessionals

[rhumbliner]

Quite some time ago a poster on this forum suggested a toolbox from Home Depot: Dewalt Rolling Toolbox so I picked up a pair and they are a perfect fit. Easy to roll in and roll out and I can pack all of my RV equipment in them as well as tire charging and bicycle tools.

The fold down doors make a perfect seat for putting on my ski boots in the parking lot of my local ski hill, or when working on my bikes and they provide a step to climb up into the bed of the truck.

I like it.

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[kurtlikevonnegut]

...

There's a seat there.
In that entire space.

If you moved the frame back, you'd have more access ...to the side of the seat. That's completely useless and grands you nothing.

It's dead space in the same way that the area above your head in your house is dead space and grants you nothing as well so we should all have 7' ceilings.

Space, in and of itself, serves a purpose.

SUVs shape their door the way they do to accommodate the wheel arch due to shorter wheel bases. Trucks have longer wheel bases and therefore can accommodate two full doors without contouring. Rivian made the decision to alter the door shape to accommodate an oddly shaped storage area instead of designing the storage area around the door opening as would make sense.

It would not surprise me if the decision was made at least partially based on the marketing motivation to make the space big enough for an adult to squeeze into. If I had a nickel for every picture I've seen of an adult crammed into the GT I'd be able to buy Gen2 Quad.

 

[bike123.com]

I have a confession to make after over 2 and a half years with my R1T: the Gear Tunnel is far more of a novelty than a utility.

That's not to say that there isn't legitimate utility to it, just that the utility I've found isn't nearly commensurate with the hype around it. Worse still, in my use case (and I suspect many more), I think the size and shape of the gear tunnel makes the backseat much less convenient, especially with small children, then it should be.

I think this was a miss by Rivian in the design department. They could have kept the concept of the gear tunnel, albeit smaller, while keeping a more traditional rear door opening shape and size to improve the utility of the back seat.

Ages 75 and 70 - first pickup ever after 48 vehicles .
Ordered S then discovered no 5 pax option and we don’t need a bus.
Switched to T.
Tunnel is most used place- fits a 10-10 pop up tent which lives there .
Back seat generously large - for 5 road bicycles with ft wheel off or one bike and two folding tadpole trikes.

 

[mkhuffman]

Quite some time ago a poster on this forum suggested a toolbox from Home Depot: Dewalt Rolling Toolbox so I picked up a pair and they are a perfect fit. Easy to roll in and roll out and I can pack all of my RV equipment in them as well as tire charging and bicycle tools.

The fold down doors make a perfect seat for putting on my ski boots in the parking lot of my local ski hill, or when working on my bikes and they provide a step to climb up into the bed of the truck.

I like it.

Dude. I am totally getting one of those. Thanks for sharing!

 

[R1Thor]

It's dead space in the same way that the area above your head in your house is dead space and grants you nothing as well so we should all have 7' ceilings.

Space, in and of itself, serves a purpose.

SUVs shape their door the way they do to accommodate the wheel arch due to shorter wheel bases. Trucks have longer wheel bases and therefore can accommodate two full doors without contouring. Rivian made the decision to alter the door shape to accommodate an oddly shaped storage area instead of designing the storage area around the door opening as would make sense.

It would not surprise me if the decision was made at least partially based on the marketing motivation to make the space big enough for an adult to squeeze into. If I had a nickel for every picture I've seen of an adult crammed into the GT I'd be able to buy Gen2 Quad.

I don't think your brain is comprehending the physical positioning of the seat.
You will get 0 extra space.

Instead of having a door frame there.
It'll be the SIDE of the SEAT.

I don't know what space you think you're reclaiming...

I think the point has been made that the majority of us prefer the gear tunnel.

Have a great day!

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

I don't think your brain is comprehending the physical positioning of the seat.
You will get 0 extra space.

Instead of having a door frame there.
It'll be the SIDE of the SEAT.

I don't know what space you think you're reclaiming...

I think the point has been made that the majority of us prefer the gear tunnel.

Have a great day!

Perhaps you could refer to a previous post. The space reclaimed is literally where the frame is. It is the frame itself that is restrictive when leaning into the vehicle to put a child into a car seat, which is something I do far more frequently than use the gear tunnel. Because of the odd shape, you end up being pushed up against the door frame instead of occupying the negative space that should exist with a traditional door shape. My point is that they should have started with the door shape and designed the GT around it, instead of the other way around. Maybe it was to be different, maybe it was for the grams. IMO, it was a mistake.

 

[Birdowin]

I love the gear tunnel, my golf clubs live there and it is great secure storage when camping.
Anyway it's a moot point. If you look at the truck moving the rear seat back would take space out of the bed or eliminate the toneau cover. The bed is already short. Do you really want a 2.5' bed?
If you really need that much space for kids buy a Silverado. They could play pickle ball in the back seat of that truck. Of course the truck is way long. And it's a Chevy.

 

[R1Thor]

Perhaps you could refer to a previous post. The space reclaimed is literally where the frame is. It is the frame itself that is restrictive when leaning into the vehicle to put a child into a car seat, which is something I do far more frequently than use the gear tunnel. Because of the odd shape, you end up being pushed up against the door frame instead of occupying the negative space that should exist with a traditional door shape. My point is that they should have started with the door shape and designed the GT around it, instead of the other way around. Maybe it was to be different, maybe it was for the grams. IMO, it was a mistake.

You made a huge presumptive leap there.
There's just as much probability that frame is designed for impact or chassis structure first. And the gear tunnel filled in the 'remaining' space.

You assume the gear tunnel decided the shape of that frame. While that may be true, there are at least 5 or 6 other probabilities that exist for why it's that shape.

Regardless, sounds like you should buy a different vehicle if this one isn't suiting your needs.

Or hit the gym and do some agility work.
This truck has so much more space than any vehicle I've owned before it. Maybe instead of looking at how much room there is for improvement, we can look at how much room there is comparatively to other things. (IE: it's better than some alternatives).

For example: I could regale you with tales of getting my kiddo into the backseat of my Subaru STi...

 

[goldburger]

Based on this thread so many r1t owners play golf.

 

[slillie]

I have a confession to make after over 2 and a half years with my R1T: the Gear Tunnel is far more of a novelty than a utility.

That's not to say that there isn't legitimate utility to it, just that the utility I've found isn't nearly commensurate with the hype around it. Worse still, in my use case (and I suspect many more), I think the size and shape of the gear tunnel makes the backseat much less convenient, especially with small children, then it should be.

I think this was a miss by Rivian in the design department. They could have kept the concept of the gear tunnel, albeit smaller, while keeping a more traditional rear door opening shape and size to improve the utility of the back seat.

I use the gear tunnel every day. It is my favorite feature of the truck.

 

[BCondrey]

The back seat is so small for my 6 and 9 year old— and I’m not very tall so it’s not kind I push my seat super far back— I can’t imagine adults sitting back there at all. I can barely imagine my kids sitting there in 5 years tbh. The gear tunnel is my least used feature of the truck.

My wife is 5' 10" and loves to sit in the backseat. I always thought the backseat was very spacious.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

Regardless, sounds like you should buy a different vehicle if this one isn't suiting your needs.

Or hit the gym and do some agility work.

Lol.

Me: "after 2.5 years with the vehicle I have a legitimate critique and am surprised something that received a ton of attention during launch isn't as useful as I thought it would be."

Gear Tunnel Stans: "HOW DARE YOU QUESTION THE ALMIGHTY GEAR TUNNEL SELL YOUR TRUCK NOW AND BUY A VAN YOU ASSHAT ALSO MAYBE WORKOUT ONCE IN A WHILE YOU FAT TUB OF LARD"

 

[Ecupip]

Sounds like the cybertruck, lightning, or the gm trio fits your needs better.

I’ve heard no complaints from our 2 dogs or occasional passengers with rear seat use or comfort.

 

[BCondrey]

What I keep in the gear tunnel, in a collection of bins which stack and fit nicely.:
Charging accessories & adapters.
Rivian portable charger.
Air compressor accessories.
Tie-down cables, ratchet straps.
Jack Pucks.
Recovery kit, tow rope.
Collapsible shovel.
Two Tarps.
Reusable Grocery & Wine Bags.
Took kit.
Mosty of this I use at least every 6 months. And, I use the gear tunnel hatch to step into the bed of the truck.

The gear tunnel is my favorite storage on the truck. Where do you keep all this without a gear tunnel?

 

[Dark-Fx]

Sounds like you should have gotten an R1S.

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