Where are the Rivian "adventurers"?

[R.I.P.]

this adventurer is mostly driving his Grenadier...

Like the Rover, you just don't see many of those on the trails...
?

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[zefram47]

Like the Rover, you just don't see many of those on the trails...
?

I finally saw a G-wagon on the trails 2 years ago. That was fun to see.

 

[R.I.P.]

I finally saw a G-wagon on the trails 2 years ago. That was fun to see.

I bet!

 

[R.I.P.]

most of that "overlanding" is engagement farming content creators trying to make a dime (or at least pay off their camera gear) by aggressively promoting an image of a lifestyle.

You say that as if it is a fact; which it is not lol.

I guess it is obviously your perception however.

In fact, none of the overlanders I run with are on youtube or promoting anything but enjoying the sport. I do know some of the youtubers (casually), and some of them are real "overlanders" that are sharing their experience's.

But... to your point... I know some that are not as well... boobtube shills.....

My RTT gets used....

 

[kylealden]

You say that as if it is a fact; which it is not lol.

In fact, none of the overlanders I run with are on youtube or promoting anything but enjoying the sport. I do know some of the youtubers (casually), and some of them are real "overlanders" that are sharing their experience's.

I think you're missing my point a bit - it's not that there's no such thing as "real overlanders," it's that the ones you're going to encounter organically are either from people directly in your orbit (friends, forum get togethers, etc.) or from aggressive self-promoters (youtubers and other "influencers").

Both of those are going to scale in proportion to the community, and the Rivian community is comparatively tiny; Tacoma and Jeep sales are 10-20x Rivian annual sales, respectively, and have been for decades, so there are an order of magnitude more owners out there.

There are self evidently plenty of Rivian "adventurers" in this thread - and if you look, starting to poke through on IG/YT as well (Charge Overland, EVLander, Mylo, and others pop to mind) - but of course it's a niche, proportional to the number of trucks in the wild. That doesn't mean the rest of us aren't out enjoying our trucks, even if we keep it to ourselves more often than not.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

Seems to me we're ALL adventurers in this life. We're just having different adventures, that's all....

Best to all!

 

[widecamsam]

...I haven’t explored the Maze area nor the San Rafael Swell area. I’m a hiker, so I use my off road vehicles to get me to trail heads, or to more quickly bypass the boring stretches of land to get to the interesting parts.

If you are out in the San Rafael Swell, please keep to the established roads, too many people have ripped up the landscape, especially around the I70, and sometimes it can be hard to pick out whch roads are established or not. My family has been exploring well before the I70 scarred the land out there, it's an extremely underprotected and delicate landscape. I wish to have seen it the way it was before it was cut in two (give the book "Stone House Lands" (Joe Bauman, of Salt Lake City) a read before you head out there) . . . The climbing out there is better than Indian Creek in my humble opinion

 

[Tbirdjeff]

White Rim Trail every 2 or 3 years, Hurrah Pass, Chicken Corners, Lockhart Basin / Canyon. I’ve driven every road in the Needles District, including any requiring permits or only open part of the year, but don’t feel like I need to again. I am happy that I did Elephant Hill with my FJ, but I did not enjoy it enough to risk damage to my Rivian. (Would rather revisit it with a mountain bike, or e-bike, if allowed.) Same with Fins N Things, Hell’s Revenge. I’m not interested in “trails” that require a winch. I haven’t explored the Maze area nor the San Rafael Swell area. I’m a hiker, so I use my off road vehicles to get me to trail heads, or to more quickly bypass the boring stretches of land to get to the interesting parts. I enjoy (amateur) landscape photography. I’m headed to The Wave shortly.

Catching up on this strong. OP, I think there are more adventurers than it seems. I took my R1T on Hells Revenge 3 weeks after I got it in Sept 2022. It did amazingly well. My BIL, who is extremely experienced with true, custom-built offroad rigs, was duly impressed. Not a small hurdle to get his expert opinion (he competes in rock crawling competitions every month). I have seen some posts about people taking theirs on Hells Gate. That is ballsy.

I have also taken it on White Rim, all over Wyoming and other parts of Utah, etc. Love it overall.

I ended up on this post as I I went searching, hoping someone has run Elephant Hill / Needles in their Rivian. I have done it in a Jeep Gladiator and it is just fine except for two spots, which concern me with my Rivian. I have Continental AT on 22" wheels, but I kept thinking when I was there last October that I was glad I didn't have my Rivian. I have booked another permit for this Sept, so I am wondering if I do tackle it this time with the Rivian. Anyone done Elephant Hill in Canyonlands?

 

[RivianCivilian]

Adventurers world over often use vehicles in the accomplishment of their adventures. This fact has formed distinct vehicle niches, often competing one against the other. The Jeep versus the Yoda boys rivalry is legendary, and on any given weekend you can find members of both camps deep in the woods and trails pitting there vehicles and their skill one against the other.

The GM boys show up, with their factory equipped Canyons and of course the Raptor crowd is ever present.

When I got asked to be on the tech team for an upstart company that was going to participate in a four-wheel drive (and motorcycle) EV adventure documentary that was going to span the continent, I was convinced that a new era was upon us.

I'm sure most of you have seen the movie, and no, that certainly did not go as planned (does it ever?). Nevertheless, I was excited to take delivery of my very own R1 to continue the adventure. At the time, I was actually convinced I was going to have a lot of company on these adventures.

6 years later, I reach out and search forums such as this one and others, to see what other people are doing with their R1's.

Towing RVs on the highway. Taking it on a ski trip. Following a forest service road to a remote lake.

WTF?

For a so-called "adventure" branded vehicle, where are all the "adventure" buyers? Sure, there are way too many Jeep Rubicons that have never seen dirt in their lifetime, but there are also plenty of them out there being used for what they were built for.

Where are the real overlanders? Where are the guys that know how to tackle a class 5, are equipped, and ready to go?

I will meet up with you. Let's show the "adventure" crowd that electrics can overland. Let's get these adventure vehicles off the pavement and into the riverbeds.

Rockies and west preferred, but I could be lured farther east with the proper adventure...

I would love to go off-raoding with someone who knows something about it (it's an art, basically), but I don't have a Rivian yet and I don't think my 2001 Civic is going to cut it.

 

[BrentInCO]

Catching up on this strong. OP, I think there are more adventurers than it seems. I took my R1T on Hells Revenge 3 weeks after I got it in Sept 2022. It did amazingly well. My BIL, who is extremely experienced with true, custom-built offroad rigs, was duly impressed. Not a small hurdle to get his expert opinion (he competes in rock crawling competitions every month). I have seen some posts about people taking theirs on Hells Gate. That is ballsy.

I have also taken it on White Rim, all over Wyoming and other parts of Utah, etc. Love it overall.

I ended up on this post as I I went searching, hoping someone has run Elephant Hill / Needles in their Rivian. I have done it in a Jeep Gladiator and it is just fine except for two spots, which concern me with my Rivian. I have Continental AT on 22" wheels, but I kept thinking when I was there last October that I was glad I didn't have my Rivian. I have booked another permit for this Sept, so I am wondering if I do tackle it this time with the Rivian. Anyone done Elephant Hill in Canyonlands?

One thing I'll mention about Elephant Hill, is there's a tight squeeze, which I don't think had an alternative / bypass (?). My FJ barely fit, scraped the side mirrors even with them folded. Specs says 2007 Toyota FJ is 74.6" wide without side mirrors, though mine seems to be 76" wide from tire's edge to tire's edge. Rivian R1S is 81.8" wide with side mirrors folded.

I don't have time to find the photo of my FJ in this spot, so here's a link to someone else's on the internet:

 

[Andystroh]

They’re out here:

 

[Mousetrap]

I would love to go off-raoding with someone who knows something about it (it's an art, basically), but I don't have a Rivian yet and I don't think my 2001 Civic is going to cut it.

Where are you? I'm sure somebody nearby would take you out with them, it's a pretty great community we have here!

 

[JeremyP]

One thing I'll mention about Elephant Hill, is there's a tight squeeze, which I don't think had an alternative / bypass (?). My FJ barely fit, scraped the side mirrors even with them folded. Specs says 2007 Toyota FJ is 74.6" wide without side mirrors, though mine seems to be 76" wide from tire's edge to tire's edge. Rivian R1S is 81.8" wide with side mirrors folded.

I don't have time to find the photo of my FJ in this spot, so here's a link to someone else's on the internet:

I've done elephant hill twice, and had decent clearance through the devils pocket in my 4th gen 4runner. I think a factor is how the rocks are piled up determines the angle of the vehicle relative to the rock. I think S.O.B. hill would be the most difficult spot because it has some boulders and tight turns, but if you're just doing the loop you don't need to go through that spot; you'll just have a longer hike if you want to go to the joint trail. If someone wants to try the trail I'd gladly accompany (in my non-rivian for now) if the timing works!

 

[BrentInCO]

Went up Corkscrew Gulch by Ouray, then Cinnamon Pass (first ascent of an R1S Dual Motor Max Pack there?), to avoid the US 50 bridge closure and I-70. Such a (comparatively) smooth ride in this vehicle vs my FJ. Roads are more like a creek during the snow melt right now.

California and Hurricane Passes are not yet reachable due to snow blocking the road.

Efficiency of 2 miles per KWh.

 

[Runner4life]

Here we are… living the dream in southern Oregon! Can’t wait to get into summer with even more adventures for our family. Loving the truck, loving the trips, don’t mind the towing… it’s all good!

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