PSA: Power Tonneau Care & Operating

[kizamybute']

I have been a pick-up truck guy all of my life. I cannot recall any pick-up by any manufacturer that came from the factory with a tonneau cover. There is a reason for this. Not everyone wants a tonneau cover. Tonneau covers and bed toppers have always been the purview specialty automotive aftermarketeers. Pick-up truck manufacturers have always stayed away from options like these because truck people want to pick out the own bed covers if they even want one.

I think that Rivian made a mistake in offering these tonneau covers on their trucks. It is already becoming problematic for Rivian to the point that their powered tonneau has become their Achilles' heel. I am happy to see that Rivian has now dropped their tonneau covers from the included list. I am very happy to take the $800 price reduction and get my truck sans the manual tonneau cover. If I decide I want one, I will get one that really works from the aftermarket.

Brian

Disagree that they made a mistake by offering the OPTION to get one included. You don't have to get it. So if you don't want one, don't get it. For others that want one, but don't want to hassle with having an aftermarket item put on to their truck, it's great that Rivian offers BOTH a powered and manual option. usually, with some you can't win no matter what you do as a company. In this case, Rivian has offered every possible option and somehow, people still complain! LOL

Plus, by Rivian offering it, you get a 5 year warranty on it. My guess is, that's much longer than would be offered for any after-market options. And to have the ability to have it all integrated into the truck and UI, I love the option of it.

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[zipzag]

I think the reason behind this is that Rivians are largely not being purchased by truck people. I believe they stated more than 90+% of orders it’s their first truck.

A number of R1T are likely to be the only pickup in an affluent neighborhood

 

[rodhx]

You are correct at the moment. When one of the Big three slightly change their bed size, the aftermarket ears have something out within the month. It will not be any different with Rivians.

Brian

That’s the reason the big three almost never change the bed size dimensions even if the outside cosmetics change. They need all that aftermarket stuff, especially commercial racks & boxes, to be able to be moved from the old fleet of trucks to the shiny new ones. Otherwise those who use such things, especially businesses, are less likely to purchase new trucks if it means that have to re-purchase all that add-on stuff. This is a stated reason Ford chose to electrify the current F150 to create the Lightning vs a clean sheet design.

 

[crashmtb]

You are correct at the moment. When one of the Big three slightly change their bed size, the aftermarket ears have something out within the month. It will not be any different with Rivians.

Brian

Did work with a company that made mudflaps. They’d just snag a new model from a dealer they were friendly with, take measurements and off to the races.

There are also things like SEMA measurement day, where all the aftermarket parts companies get to take detailed measurements of hot new models.

Are the tonneaus just loud or is there something mechanically wrong with them? I'm not worried about waking someone up when I need to open it.

The noise mostly seems to be the slats stacking on top of each other in the storage compartment. Somewhat unavoidable

 

[emoore]

You are correct at the moment. When one of the Big three slightly change their bed size, the aftermarket ears have something out within the month. It will not be any different with Rivians.

Brian

I disagree. The big 3 sell orders of magnitude more trucks than Rivian will for many years. So yes when the F150 bed changes then the aftermarket will have something out in a month due to the number sold. Rivian R1T is a niche truck so there isn't nearly the money or incentive to make after market parts for it.

 

[fedarga]

For all the R1T owners with the powered tonneau,

The Rivian senior tech that came out to service my R1T yesterday gave me the following bits on info.
Everyone will have a different experience with the powered tonneau. For some reason there are some motors that are louder/quieter than others.

Although there is a brush where the tonneau is stored to clean it off, larger chunks of debris will end up clogging it and screwing it up.

He recommended

- cleaning off the larger pieces of debris from the tonneau before retracting​

- cleaning the channels that the tonneau cover slides on every so often​

Although Rivian service is there to help us, please try not to overwhelm them so much while they are ramping up! We don't want awesome senior techs like the one I got to quit.

- Your fellow Rivian owner who is trying to R1VLIFE.

To clean the debris before it lodges in the tracks of Tonneau, will dusting of with air compressor hose on the truck will work as long as you blowing it away towards the back of the truck bed? Or vacuuming with shop vac will work? I do not have one of Rivian as of now so I could not confirm.

 

[SeaGeo]

I disagree. The big 3 sell orders of magnitude more trucks than Rivian will for many years. So yes when the F150 bed changes then the aftermarket will have something out in a month due to the number sold. Rivian R1T is a niche truck so there isn't nearly the money or incentive to make after market parts for it.

For example, where are all the custom for third party floor mats?

 

[r1vlife]

To clean the debris before it lodges in the tracks of Tonneau, will dusting of with air compressor hose on the truck will work as long as you blowing it away towards the back of the truck bed? Or vacuuming with shop vac will work? I do not have one of Rivian as of now so I could not confirm.

I'm hoping that using the air compressor in the manner you described is adequate otherwise I would also try wiping the channels down with a moist towel to remove dried, caked on debris.

 

[E.S.]

... I think that Rivian made a mistake in offering these tonneau covers on their trucks.

? I wouldn't exactly say it was a mistake. That it needs work? Most definitely. However, Rivian having this as an option also makes it subject to their warranty's full coverage which significant compared to the usual 1-2 yrs that after market items like this might have (if it's not even lower). At least people do have to flexibility to choose which one they want to get (Rivian's or aftermarket), but I do like the idea of them providing one OEM.

I think the reason behind this is that Rivians are largely not being purchased by truck people. I believe they stated more than 90+% of orders it’s their first truck.

Agreed here, a lot of truck people are fiercely (blindly?) loyal to the traditional stuff and even to certain brands. There are also a lot of truck people that believe pickups are only suited for blue collar working conditions ("If it can't haul/doesn't have long enough a bed/can't tow far, that's not a truck!" <-- and other similar comments) and the concept of using pickups for other purposes is beyond their grasp (when I was young, we walked to those places ... in the snow ... barefoot ... uphill - both ways! ?).

And it's not surprising that many of the orders are first time pickup truck buyers. I do not recall any time where they've presented a vehicle in a manner outside the preconceived perception of what a pickup is usually used for and it attracted a LOT of people towards it that would normally not take a pickup as a consideration for their wants. Rivian may be a large investment upfront, but it truly does offer a lot of value for all the bells and whistles it comes with. Several of these features that previously one had to aftermarket to acquire.

 

[Iwantatesla]

I'm hoping that using the air compressor in the manner you described is adequate otherwise I would also try wiping the channels down with a moist towel to remove dried, caked on debris.

It’s definitely adequate! Not for bird poop tho

 

[Bigskyinminnie]

Anyone with trucks having issues? I just put in for service as mine doesn't seem to want to close fully against the rubber gasket. It is a bit noisy but it's a truck and you're standing outside. I had a fantastic tri-fold on my Tacoma which was easily removed if I needed that extra space in the back. Either way having a hard top is a big plus.

 

[Gabe1aron]

I don't know the answer to that question. I am keeping mine closed for better mi/kwh and then using the air compressor to spray it clean when I do spot larger debris.

Thats a good use of the air compressor

 

[crashmtb]

It’s definitely adequate! Not for bird poop tho

Camp kitchen water module + air compressor = instant car wash

 

[texasBuzzard]

Anyone have videos/photos of the manual cover and how it looks open and closed/stored?

Thank you!!

 

[blturner]

What about putting a vinyl wrap on the tonneau to stop the scratching? Wonder if it would cause tolerance issues or jamming.

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