Photo: Rivian | Edited
Rivian is already leading the pickup truck segment in storage features with its Gear Tunnel. The EV startup wants to dial things to the max and patent a new integrated storage system. This reminds us of Tesla Cybertruck's sail pillar storage.
Storage compartments on a pickup truck are a hot commodity, considering how creative carmakers have become. Initially designed to haul goods, pickups are increasingly used as family vehicles, hence the need for enclosed and possibly lockable compartments to store things. Many truck makers have proposed integrating storage compartments in various areas, like the tailgate or under the bed's surface. Tesla has shown what people call sail-pillar storage on the Cybertruck prototype, while Stellantis also fitted its Ram trucks with RamBox in-bed storage compartments.
We can say that Rivian was even cleverer with its Gear Tunnel, which can act as a sealed and locked storage compartment. Gear Tunnel can also integrate other gear, like the camp kitchen that Rivian stopped selling. The "Movable panel for a vehicle exterior" patent expands on the Gear Tunnel concept, describing a new storage system similar to RamBox.
The Rivian patent shows that the bed-panel compartments fold down, revealing multiple storage compartments and gear. It can also support various activities, as the lid can be positioned at different heights. In some of the drawings, you can see that the compartments allow for storing longer objects, similar to Tesla Cybertruck's sail-pillar storage.
More elaborate use cases are depicted in other drawings, like deploying a foldable table and chairs for outdoor camping or tailgate party. This seems like a nice addition to the slide-out camp kitchen that Rivian has advertised for the R1T, although it stopped selling it. Other drawings detail various pass-through options for storing long objects like skis and surfboards. Many of the compartments offer 110-volt and 12-volt plugs, as well as USB ports. Bedsides can be lowered or raised as desired, showing impressive versatility.
Although a young company, Rivian has recently become more active in the patent space. This patent was filed in October 2021 before the R1T was launched, but it was published only recently, on April 6. It doesn't mean that Rivian will use the idea in one of its trucks anytime soon, but it indicates that the company is considering enhancing its trucks with more features in the future. Even if the upcoming R2 lineup would have such clever storage options, it's possible that Rivian would not be building all the features.
The EV startup recently signaled that it doesn't want to replace accessory producers in the market. Rivian stopped selling the Gear Tunnel camp kitchen and announced that it's redesigning the whole concept. Still, many believe Rivian would leave this market to third-party providers, as producing accessories would only complicate things as it works hard to ramp up vehicle production.
We can say that Rivian was even cleverer with its Gear Tunnel, which can act as a sealed and locked storage compartment. Gear Tunnel can also integrate other gear, like the camp kitchen that Rivian stopped selling. The "Movable panel for a vehicle exterior" patent expands on the Gear Tunnel concept, describing a new storage system similar to RamBox.
The Rivian patent shows that the bed-panel compartments fold down, revealing multiple storage compartments and gear. It can also support various activities, as the lid can be positioned at different heights. In some of the drawings, you can see that the compartments allow for storing longer objects, similar to Tesla Cybertruck's sail-pillar storage.
More elaborate use cases are depicted in other drawings, like deploying a foldable table and chairs for outdoor camping or tailgate party. This seems like a nice addition to the slide-out camp kitchen that Rivian has advertised for the R1T, although it stopped selling it. Other drawings detail various pass-through options for storing long objects like skis and surfboards. Many of the compartments offer 110-volt and 12-volt plugs, as well as USB ports. Bedsides can be lowered or raised as desired, showing impressive versatility.
Although a young company, Rivian has recently become more active in the patent space. This patent was filed in October 2021 before the R1T was launched, but it was published only recently, on April 6. It doesn't mean that Rivian will use the idea in one of its trucks anytime soon, but it indicates that the company is considering enhancing its trucks with more features in the future. Even if the upcoming R2 lineup would have such clever storage options, it's possible that Rivian would not be building all the features.
The EV startup recently signaled that it doesn't want to replace accessory producers in the market. Rivian stopped selling the Gear Tunnel camp kitchen and announced that it's redesigning the whole concept. Still, many believe Rivian would leave this market to third-party providers, as producing accessories would only complicate things as it works hard to ramp up vehicle production.
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