Thanks
@2WheelRob,
@sanchez_camper all three of us have had our Rivians for a little over a year and have off roaded them extensively. I'm also not one of those EV lovers who sits around sniffing his own farts ( South Park for those who don't get the reference). I also drive a 97 Taco with 5 speed manual transmission and lockers that I'll probably be buried in.
From road trips in charging deserts like Big Bend and Merus to 3000+ mile cross country drives, we have pushed these electric trucks to their limits, often going beyond what the mileage says we're capable of. Over 35k miles in the first year and I'm absolutely thrilled.
The good: 835HP/900+ ft lbs of torque will easily get you over most obstacles or pull the ice cream truck out of the deep sand. The suspension is hydraulic/pneumatic and can raise up to 15" of clearance at the push of a button with a flat belly so there's nothing to bang on rocks. It's also quiet, like I've snuck up on deer multiple times quiet. The 300 mi range is pretty good off-road. I've done multiple days in Colorado without a charge. However Big Bend was a little different. Since it's so big and spread out required additional charging. Since the truck can charge at any RV site it wasn't really an issue though. Technically 110 outlet could be used in a pinch. My favorite is the operating cost though. During a recent trip to New Mexico, I spent $47 round trip on "fuel" from Central Texas to Cloudcroft and back. My friends 4Runner was close to $400 for gas and my buddy I'm 37s wouldn't even tell us how bad his was. Also, there are tens of thousands less components in an EV. That means less probability of failure on the trail. My only maintenance items are wipers and tires. One other really nice thing is over the air updates. When you buy a car from a dealer, what you drive off the lot is what you get. We typically spend thousands more and aftermarket parts to make that vehicle off-road worthy. With Rivian, it's ready to go off-road from day one (34" tires stock) and they add over the air updates like camp mode, rally mode, rock crawl mode, sand mode, drift mode etc. which improve the handling and stability in different driving situations. Plus if you have a RTT and park on unlevel terrain, the truck will level itself for you.
The bad: if there is a failure on the trail, it's much harder to repair in the field. Charging infrastructure sucks. EVs will continue to struggle for the next couple years while fast charging infrastructure is built out. For now, RV parks are your friend when exploring remote destinations.
The ugly - Rivians are pricey! No doubt about it, this is a luxury EV. The three of us were fortunate to get them at legacy pricing from 2018 and also got a $7,500 tax credit bringing the sale price closer to that of an F250. It's also a first generation vehicle so there will be some quirks. So far Rivian has taken good care of those, but they do exist. Also, it's heavy AF. About 6,700 before adding toys. It's like driving a dump truck with a rocket engine.
In summary, I love this truck and have no hesitation about taking it anywhere. It takes a little longer at charging stops every 4 hours or so but that gives me time to stretch my legs and use the bathroom. No regrets and I would absolutely make the same purchase again.
Hope this helps, feel free to let us know if you have additional questions.
