- GoFastCampers, one of many greatest identify in overlanding circles, lastly has a camper possibility for the Rivian R1T.
- It sleeps two in a pop-up tent above the R1T’s mattress, and you’ll arise within the mattress of the truck.
- However the {custom}, Montana-built camper is not low cost. It begins at $9,450.
The Rivian R1 is the final word electrical off-roader, at the very least for now. Whereas we look forward to the Scout Traveler, Jeep Recon and eventual electrical Bronco to reach, you possibly can’t do a lot better than the flagship Rivian R1T and R1S. They each boast strong floor clearance, trick hydraulic suspensions, underbody armor and loads of torque. However if you wish to overland, quite than simply wheel, the R1T has a giant downside. You may’t sleep in it. Nicely, you could not, till GoFastCampers launched the Rivian model of its Platform Camper.
Those that wished to sleep in a Rivian needed to go together with the R1S. However for those who’re hauling soiled, muddy, snowy gear round, it is definitely good to have a separate mattress, quite than having to scuff up the inside of your $90,000 SUV. The identical logic is why pickup-bed campers have lengthy been a favourite for overlanders. You may haul heavy, messy gear in a correct truck mattress, then climb into an hooked up, enclosed sleeping platform. Not like with a rooftop tent, you can also arise within the mattress together with your head within the camper portion, and you do not want a ladder to get out and in. It is the final word answer, except you may have the area, group and rig for sleeping contained in the SUV itself.
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The camper can also be constructed to assist mounting and carrying bigger objects on the roof. If it’s essential to haul lumber or surf boards, as an illustration, you can buy cross bars that permit you to carry as much as 500 lbs on the roof, even on a path. You will additionally nonetheless have entry to the total mattress, together with room to sleep two adults of any top. GFC has additionally upgraded its included mattress in recent times, so your sleep ought to be fairly snug. The camper weighs 270 lbs, which—relying in your R1T’s battery dimension—ought to nonetheless offer you 1,500 to 1,750 lbs of further payload capability for gear and passengers. GFC says it has a low-drag design that ought to solely cut back vary by 7 to 10%.
I attempted out GFC’s Platform Camper for the Ford Maverick again in 2022 and beloved it. Seeing them round San Diego on the backs of Rangers and Tacomas has me much more jealous. However for these of us who love EVs, there hasn’t been a terrific possibility but. A part of why GFC campers work so properly is that they are constructed particularly for the truck and mattress configuration you may have. Since Rivian is not promoting R1Ts as fleet-oriented work vans, they are a bit trickier to upfit than a Tacoma or Colorado.
Picture by: GoFastCampers
GFC notes that the corporate needed to minimize across the Rivian’s mission-critical rooftop antenna to make it work. (Facet notice: Should you’ve ever puzzled why pickup vans nonetheless have conventional, flexible antennas mounted on the prime of the hood, for this reason). The corporate additionally needed to work across the truck’s curved rear glass and management buttons mounted on the rail of the mattress. There are many hidden sensors, too. All of this stuff contribute to Rivian’s comparatively excessive restore prices, and likewise present why the simplicity of conventional truck beds is such a bonus. Most ICE vans are designed to be upfitted. So is the F-150 Lightning, as a result of it has the identical mattress, and the Silverado EV makes use of lots of these ideas too.
So it took some time for this camper to return out. In the meantime, F-150 Lightning house owners may simply use the GFC camper constructed for the usual F-150. Now, although, GFC says it has a camper that retains all the automobile’s purposeful bits in working order. It is also constructed by hand in Montana, by a crew of full-time workers who earn a residing wage. I have been to that Bozeman facility, and I have been a GFC imagine ever since. It is good to see an organization make a {custom}, aggressive product for a passionate viewers whereas treating its folks pretty.
However custom-designed, artisan-built campers aren’t low cost. The usual GFC Platform begins at $8,450 earlier than equipment. However the Rivian model is a little more costly: $9,450. Should you need not sleep in it, and simply need a well-built mattress cap on your R1T with a strong suite of equipment, the Platform itself is $4,999. Each can be found immediately and might be ship to and put in at any of GFC’s eight retail areas, that are in Bozeman, MT; Vista, CA; Sacramento, CA; Scappoose, OR; Denver, CO; Grandview, MO; New Braunfels, TX and Reidsville, NC.
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