I am a left coast urbanite and not what you would call truck man. (Fifteen to twenty mpg, when the world's warming and gasoline is at $5 per gallon. I'm not going to do that. However, I am an electric vehicle guy (most recently while trying the Lucid Air), and an independent camping out in nature kind of guy (including at least a dozen Burning Mans). While I was apprehensive about my first truck drive, an off-road test of Rivian R1T, an electric truck that is shipping to customers in its $73,000 launch edition, and garnering great feedback along the way, I also seized the chance like it was an enormous steering wheel.
The R1T is now at the top of my wish list. Trucks are fun to drive, especially when there are 10 cameras that feed to a 16-inch display that can guide you downhill. It turns out that if you remove range anxiety and mpg concerns (the launch edition of the R1T gets 314 miles per charge; the company promises a 400+ mile version by 2022), camping and off-roading are much easier for eco-conscious urbanites.
Rivian appears to be marketing its launch vehicle like a "Patagonia" or "REI" truck, as many reviews have pointed out. This isn't just marketing talk. You can easily set up a tent on the truck's roof or flatbed. There are a few crossbars that cost $450 each. Add some shade and you have the perfect Burning Man truck camping setup.
The Rivian R1T fully tent camping and in cooking mode. Credit: Chris Taylor / Mashable
Rivian also offers a $5,000 "camp kitchen" attachment, which is optional. However, Rivian has made every effort to make it attractive. The drawers contain all the cutlery, plates, cups, and other equipment needed for a cookout, including the coffee pot. Induction stoves are capable of cooking for hours without consuming more than one mile of car battery life. The whole thing can be stored in a donut hole storage space at the back of the car. These, along with the frunk, and the flatbed, give the R1T a staggering 68 cubic feet of storage.
Larry, a truck guy, came along to make sure that I wasn't being overwhelmed by my introduction to truck camping. He once drove his Ford F-150 to Colorado to get certain options, even though it would have to be driven back to California. Larry also plans to replace the F-150, America's most popular gas vehicle, with an electric one. He is a prime Rivian and has been looking at the R1T since a while, but might also be interested in the F-150 Lightning Ford EV, which will launch in 2022. Is the R1T going to change his mind?
Off-roading was an area where the answer was clear: Larry always referred to "nimble" as his favorite word. The R1T was smaller, lighter, and had better suspension than F-150. It was also easier to navigate around curves, including at 20-degree angles, and up and down hills.
The surround sound system was capable of handling a Queen song without being too loud.
After a 60-meter uphill test, the Rivian R1T is now ready to eat. Credit: larry edelstein / mashable
Larry noted that the R1T's cabin was not as comfortable than its Ford counterpart. After spending an hour driving with the F-150 seats massaging my back and butts, I felt inclined to agree. The cabin didn't feel smaller, but the flat tinted roof made it seem larger than it actually is. This is similar to the Lucid Air's more curving glass roof. Some reviewers criticized the seating for being too soft to withstand long distance driving.
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Larry was not turned off by this feature. Rivian does not offer Apple CarPlay. This feature has been essential to Larry since it was included on his F-150. It doesn't even offer Android Auto. It's likely that Amazon is an investor in the truck, and the R1T includes Alexa integration. Although the truck's software interface can be confusing, company representatives were quick to remind us that it would quickly be updated over the internet. It seems like an error to not ship with the most popular smartphone systems and the most popular car systems.
The R1T is sure to be a hit with urbanites who want to explore their inner adventurer. The F-150 Lightning and Tesla Cybertruck, which are expected to go on sale in 2022, may bring us into a golden age for blue-state truck enthusiasts. There will be intense competition between these three models, which can only benefit consumers. If you're a camper and can't wait for the F-150 Lightning or Tesla's Cybertruck to go on sale in 2022, the Rivian truck is your best option.
