Loading a R1S with College Stuff

[KBabione]

Oh hey this was me a couple weeks back. Just one kid, though, and we were able to get everything in with the second row still up.

Looks great - It holds SO much stuff. I did draw the line at the case of ramen cups...She took what fit in her "food bin" and left the rest here!

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[COdogman]

My PSU daughter is in the marching band (the Blue Band), so tailgating is tough to plan - we could be feeding from 12 (like this past game) to 25 if she brings the rest of the clarinets to the tailgate. My wife is being strict about keeping the food simple - this past weekend was ham, egg, & cheese sandwiches for brunch and sloppy joes for dinner. This coming Saturday it's going to be breakfast burritos and burgers. She wouldn't let me do patty melts this time because of the need to toast the rye for a proper experience...

I don’t think those college kids can appreciate a patty melt from a true sandwich artist like yourself.

I would just give them bottled water and uncrustables

 

[KBabione]

Thank you! It's always interesting when they bring friends to the tailgate because food my girls grew up with is often totally foreign to others. As shocking as this may be, there are actually people out there who have never had rye bread! Can you imagine?

 

[atebit]

Gary did a semester as a film major at Northwestern before dropping out. Seems to have done alright for himself, though.

 

[NeverFollow]

I'm surprised no one mentioned using a hitch-mounted cargo rack.

 

[KBabione]

I'm surprised no one mentioned using a hitch-mounted cargo rack.

Luckily I was able to fit everything inside the R1S so I didn't need to go external, but that's a good looking box. I have an old-school Sears X Cargo (and the Rivian crossbars), but I need to park in a parking garage at both schools so that was never an option. Even with a hitch-mounted box I think I'd have to remove it and put it inside the R1S to park in a garage.

 

[SoCal Rob]

I have twin girls who started their freshman year (one at Penn State, the other at Ohio State - lucky me) and we loaded our R1S to the gills with their stuff, but it all fit! Thankfully I only needed to have room for one of them in the car.

Sub-trunk

Trunk

Frunk

2nd Row

Nicely done! We’ve moved a LOT of stuff in our R1S and our past boxy SUVs. To me, the boxy cargo area is a defining characteristic of a true SUV. When the roof starts to taper at the back, the utility starts to get compromised when moving people and/or cargo. I think this is why a lot of folks who bought an R1S didn’t consider a Model X and why a lot of folks will buy an R2 without considering the Mach e, Model Y, etc. at all.

edit: Corrected a Y to an X

 

[carsly]

Nicely done! We’ve moved a LOT of stuff in our R1S and our past boxy SUVs. To me, the boxy cargo area is a defining characteristic of a true SUV. When the roof starts to taper at the back, the utility starts to get compromised when moving people and/or cargo. I think this is why a lot of folks who bought an R1S didn’t consider a Model Y and why a lot of folks will buy an R2 without considering the Mach e, Model Y, etc. at all.

As it was once written...

Space...the final frontier.

 

[NeverFollow]

I need to park in a parking garage at both schools so that was never an option. Even with a hitch-mounted box I think I'd have to remove it and put it inside the R1S to park in a garage.

If you don't have the need for a big lockable box, you can use and stack some storage bins instead on top of the platform.

When empty, the platform can be folded vertically to help when parking.

 

[NeverFollow]

I wonder if anyone tried removing the rear seat to get more space,
something useful when carrying bulky furniture, such as computer chairs?

Note: I always try doing it in older vehicles that I own, but sometime the seatbelt for the center seat is attached to the seat leanback part. So a piece of the back seat would stay attached, but could still be moved around.

 

[usulio]

Nicely done! We’ve moved a LOT of stuff in our R1S and our past boxy SUVs. To me, the boxy cargo area is a defining characteristic of a true SUV. When the roof starts to taper at the back, the utility starts to get compromised when moving people and/or cargo. I think this is why a lot of folks who bought an R1S didn’t consider a Model Y and why a lot of folks will buy an R2 without considering the Mach e, Model Y, etc. at all.

Unfortunate truth is, the vertical space in the R1 is very small compared to a typical minivan. Boxes have to be under 2 and a half feet high to get in the back. I suppose it’s the price we pay for ground clearance, battery, and fold flat camping features.

 

[BobbyRitz]

Unfortunate truth is, the vertical space in the R1 is very small compared to a typical minivan. Boxes have to be under 2 and a half feet high to get in the back. I suppose it’s the price we pay for ground clearance, battery, and fold flat camping features.

I’m willing to accept this unfortunate truth. Wasn’t looking for a minivan when I picked up my R1S.

 

[Patrick87]

I just took my sophomore daughter back to school at Vanderbilt. I felt like the Clampets and threatened to strap a rocking chair to the top.

The tailgate was so close to closing!

 

[NeverFollow]

I wonder if anyone tried removing the rear seat to get more space,
something useful when carrying bulky furniture, such as computer chairs?

Note: I always try doing it in older vehicles that I own, but sometime the seatbelt for the center seat is attached to the seat leanback part. So a piece of the back seat would stay attached, but could still be moved around.

I noticed those treads dealing with removing the middle seat and thinking it could be useful in the future for someone looking for finding extra space to carry stuff:

- Those treads are quite long so I put some pictures as summary.

- Interesting discussion was to consider using two 40% seats to provide a better access to the third row, solution that was called captain chairs.

Step by Step Removal of Second Row in R1S (DIY instructions w/ photos)

R1S middle row seat removal easier than expected and wow what a difference.

1. Example of removing the 40% middle row right seat, but the center seat of the 60% could not be used because the seat belt latch is attached to the removed seat:

2. Example of removing the 60% middle row right seat, which was perform to provide an easy access for three baby car seats:

- See Video: The Best Electric Car For A Big Family! Rivian R1S v Tesla Model X v Kia EV9 v Mercedes EQS SUV.

 

[RMSko]

I have 3 kids who graduated B1G schools: my oldest from Maryland, my next from Univ of Mich and my youngest from Penn State. I’m a Rutgers graduate and so we‘re a Big 10 family (other than my wife, but she doesn’t like football anyway haha). I’m getting my first Rivian (R1S) this weekend - coming off a Lucid Air.

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