Socket "two" me - more better: installed 12 volt outlets under the dash

[AYAYRON]

This should be one of your next purchases, I do have the 12v under the dash, and this allows me to have usbc and a on the plug plus 4 more on a remotely located plug, I love it!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BDZ6V1Y4?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

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[eRacer]

Thanks for sharing. This is going on my list of mods.

 

[nick]

I did something similar in our R1S using fuse taps. I was going to use a surface mount like the OP, but realized that I could drill holes in the console organizer I bought from Amazon.

Console Organizer
USB Plugs
12V Outlet

Really cool idea. How stable are the outlets? Do they move around at all when you plug stuff in?

 

[vandy1981]

Really cool idea. How stable are the outlets? Do they move around at all when you plug stuff in?

The material on the divider is soft so I cut up a thin plastic cutting board and glued it to the backside to stiffin it up.

 

[Treebeard]

Now that I have irritated the grammarians…

The good news - I got my R1S a year ahead of schedule. The bad news - they took away the 12 volt outlets in the dash and the frunk. (I do hope it was a supply chain issue and not a cost cutting attempt or utility decision, lest we question the validity of their future decisions.)

I decided that i really didn’t need an outlet in the frunk for any immediate purpose. Consequently, I opted for two 12 volt outlets under the dash where I am going to need them. Hence, more better.

Amazon has a variety of options. Many may be delivered in a Rivian van.

The fuse panel is in the most UN-user friendly location possible.

There are two driver-side panel covers - one just behind and the other to the right of the knee airbag. Each has a #25 torx screw and really tight straight insertion clips.

The center panel is accessed by removing the portable speaker, pulling up the rubber mat, and popping open the panel with a plastic pry tool. (Really tight clips here too.)

I used the 20 amp fuse locations of F46, 12 volt port one and F51, 12 volt port two. Other folks have explored that uncharted territory and documented the fuse layout in other posts.

I couldn’t find a pigtail adapter with connectors that held snuggly. I didn’t want them becoming disconnected on a bumpy road. Consequently, I went with standard spade connectors with the positive line and put the fuses in the outlet housing. Fuse access will be much easier in the future. I do NOT want to crawl under there again!

For the ground terminals, I found a pre-drilled hole in the top of the metal frame at the right of the center panel. A #12 self-drilling hex head screw threaded perfectly tight.

The mounting spot for the socket assembly is just above the rubber mat edge.

Now I can plug in a satellite based GPS and a communications transceiver when I want to adventure out of the soccer-mom parking lot.

Rivian seems to have an attitude of “ this is our truck on loan to you so do nothing to it. I have asked many times about the coolant used in the battery cooling system after I found the reservoir under a trim piece and it seemed low. They won’t say.

 

[Singletracker]

Can somebody tell me why Rivian would not have an in-cabin 12v outlet? This just seems nuts, especially because there was a time when they did.

 

[WhidbeyIsland]

That's one of about a dozen questions for Rivian that remain unanswered.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Cost cutting. Or, casualty of efforts to move to single 12V and reduce phantom drain (happened around same time). Maybe both. Take your pick.

 

[Joules Burn]

Can somebody tell me why Rivian would not have an in-cabin 12v outlet? This just seems nuts, especially because there was a time when they did.

My guesses are supply chain issues, or cost cutting by a bean counter who never wore hiking boots.

 

[Singletracker]

My guesses are supply chain issues, or cost cutting by a bean counter who never wore hiking boots.

I’m not buying supply chain issues for a 12v outlet that is a dime a dozen. The bean counter theory? Maybe. That was about the time Rivian got involved with Tesla’s latest stooge, Sandy Munro, as I recall. But, honestly, even that theory seems hard to believe, considering the insignificant cost of this item. But, who knows?

 

[moosetags]

At least Rivian kept one of the 12 volt round outlets. Unfortunately, the kept the one in the least convenient position in the gear tunnel. This requires me to unload my tool box the use the 12 volt outlet. Whoever at Rivian made that decision was not wearing their thinking cap that day.

Rivian did better than Airtream in this area. About ten years ago, Airstream decide that everyone was usbc cables to charge their phones and that the 12 volt round outlets were no longer needed. Airstream did away with the 12 volt outlets completely. Whoever decided that at Airstream suffers from extreme cranial rectumitis.

Brian

 

[agame32]

Would anyone in SoCal be interested in a 12v retrofit “group by” installed by a professional mechanic?

Our mechanic is really good and I kind of miss not going to him since we’ve been full EV for two years. Plus he loves Rivians. I’m thinking these types of mods might be a good fit, but he’d probably only be interested if there was some sort of scale to it. Thoughts?

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