Updated Powered Tonneau & Manual Tonneau Bed Covers Coming Mid-Summer! RJ Shows Off in First-Look Video

[godfodder0901]

Any thoughts on how weatherproof the tonneaus will be? I know nobody has seen them, but I am hoping they will do a good job of keeping out the elements.

If they are anything like the original, they will keep nearly all weather out. Dust is another story.

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[DTown3011]

If they are anything like the original, they will keep nearly all weather out. Dust is another story.

Thats my thought, I don't need them to be a dry box but having covered storage in the back is gamechanging for me, especially in the winter. I left the R1T at home on a few ski trips for this very reason - seems like I won't have to do that again!

 

[rodhx]

If they are anything like the original, they will keep nearly all weather out. Dust is another story.

That's what I would expect as well. The primary source of the dust are gaps around the tailgate, not the covers.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

If they are anything like the original, they will keep nearly all weather out. Dust is another story.

Mine lets in a decent amount of water when it rains.

 

[godfodder0901]

Mine lets in a decent amount of water when it rains.

Hmm, sorry to hear that. PNW winters were fine for me, and my bed almost always has cardboard in it. That said, we are known more for a 5-6 month drizzle than a downpour.

 

[dleewla]

Same. I think it's a good, convenient design. And it's exactly what they've described from the very beginning (interlocking removable slats that can be stored in the Gear Tunnel). The only thing I see that they didn't follow through on is the ability to turn it into some sort of table.

This is from the Rivian website from all the way back at the beginning of 2021. I guess I'm not sure why folks are disappointed?

seriously. the manual tonneau is like they described all along. grow up people.

 

[freshpow]

seriously. the manual tonneau is like they described all along. grow up people.

I'm very unhappy with the manual tonneau cover design. I thought it was going to be automatic!

 

[seanocono]

Didn’t read through all 18 pages, but if there is any concerns about this not being slats still we can put that to rest.
You can see the slats if you look at the sides of the bed in the screen grab I have below. You will see it gently rise and fall as your eyes go towards the rear window.

This is how I saw the new design, too. It looks like slats with a soft cover layer over the top of it. You can see the outlines of the slats when the cover moves. Could be the best of both worlds.

 

[mabowden]

As long as there is access to the wiring harness and the truck has tracks for the slats, there should be a path forward. For the missing button on the bed, they would need to exchange the continuous trim piece on the top of the bed for one that has a cutout for the tonneau release.

Yeah, I don't see them switching out the trim piece at anything less than an exorbitant price. But if the wiring harness for the auto is present maybe they will give it a college try to upsell current manual tonneau holders.

 

[sub]

This is how I saw the new design, too. It looks like slats with a soft cover layer over the top of it. You can see the outlines of the slats when the cover moves. Could be the best of both worlds.

That is a really clever solution. Instead of pulling the slats in directly, the vehicle pulls the top layer, which then pushes the slats in from the back.

Before if the far side got stuck, it continued to pull on the near side, causing the slats to twist and get even more stuck. Pulling on a stuck cover also put a lot of stress on the interlocking mechanism so the slats could become disconnected.

By switching to push from the back strategy, if one side got stuck, there will be less of a twisting force and there would be no stress on the panel interlocking mechanism when it it gets stuck so you should never see the slats become disconnected from pulling too hard.

It could still get stuck and fail to retract, but it would be much less likely to self-destruct when it gets stuck.

 

[jebinc]

That is a really clever solution. Instead of pulling the slats in directly, the vehicle pulls the top layer, which then pushes the slats in from the back.

Before if the far side got stuck, it continued to pull on the near side, causing the slats to twist and get even more stuck. Pulling on a stuck cover also put a lot of stress on the interlocking mechanism so the slats could become disconnected.

By switching to push from the back strategy, if one side got stuck, there will be less of a twisting force and there would be no stress on the panel interlocking mechanism when it it gets stuck so you should never see the slats become disconnected from pulling too hard.

It could still get stuck and fail to retract, but it would be much less likely to self-destruct when it gets stuck.

Sun/UV will destroy a soft vinyl shade sitting on top of aluminum slats. No thanks.

 

[SASSquatch]

Sun/UV will destroy a soft vinyl shade sitting on top of aluminum slats. No thanks.

How about we actually, you know, verify exactly what the materials and design is of the power tonneau before we crucify it?

Call me crazy, but maybe we shouldn't draw conclusions from a 14 second clip with bad angles?

 

[CrazyOne]

Hmm, sorry to hear that. PNW winters were fine for me, and my bed almost always has cardboard in it. That said, we are known more for a 5-6 month drizzle than a downpour.

Same here. Haven't seen any water get inside the bed in PNW.

 

[Quick]

How about we actually, you know, verify exactly what the materials and design is of the power tonneau before we crucify it?

Call me crazy, but maybe we shouldn't draw conclusions from a 14 second clip with bad angles?

If you‘ve solved the problem with an existing product and are ready to get it back into production, perhaps you should spend a little time focusing on that solution and what customers should expect to receive? I feel like the fact that they didn’t is telling. Instead they focused on a different vapor ware product.

Regarding the manual tonneau- it’s exactly what they said it would be, and I would love to get one.

 

[RivAW]

What’s the over/under on a September-ish announcement that the new tonneau covers will arrive for the holidays?!

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