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It is on my to do list for later this month. Picking up my son from college on Friday… he will help spot me on the ramp. Stay tuned.

That is an interesting point. I did this before sand mode was launched, so I’ll go back in the next week or two and give it a try.

@Rex Briggs I figured, as that was a newer feature they released. Also a snow mode. But that just eases the petal a bit from what I have seen. Be interested if what you find with those 2 new modes. Thanks for the videos!

It is helpful off road to be sure. On road-trips, it seems like recent software dials it down on long descents to manage how much regen it can take in.

Good suggestion to try sand mode. I may have time this week to give it a try, if I can talk my neighbor into spotting me. He just got a R1T too.

That’s an interesting observation. Once we have a winch, I’d like to test it in the mud. I did have the experience in mud on and up slope where it just spun and I had to back down. Some of that is tires, I suspect.

We started in rock crawl mode. Then tried rally, then tried all purpose. We tried different modes to see if we could get a different outcome.

Fair comment. But, man, it is so much fun to see what this thing can do.

I shared it with Rivian and my guide and she replied and is passing it along, so I hope they will see the thoughtful comments others have added here.

@@rexbriggs3251 Excellent!

@@rexbriggs3251 Have you considered sharing this on Rivian Stories? I believe there are a number of Rivian employees who follow that forum.

Off road use only of course

Not equal power or torque but rather making all four rotate at the same rate. Or better yet the same rate modified by steering angle.

@@WilliamAArnett sounds like a plan

I like it too Bihh and Bill. I am sending a link to the comments to my R1T advisor, and maybe it will get some consideration.

Each motor has 200 hp. That’s plenty even if only one has grip. In this case two have grip (LF and RR). The problem is that the software isn’t asking the motors with grip for enough power. Perhaps it’s sensing that the two wheels with no grip are slipping and reducing power to all four?

You’re not wrong :) But, in certain situations I don’t want to floor it and wait to see if it takes off- that could flip the vehicle. I would like to have control to inch forward.

In rock crawl mode the entire pedal movement equates to 20mph - does that mapping not give you sufficient control precision?

That doesn’t work. It limits the power even at full pedal. Very frustrating!

@@WilliamAArnett so true. It does seem like that could be fixed with software.

I actually think its more the motor cant produce anymore torque at 0 rpm. I canceled my order over this, was going to sell my Jeep and get a Rivian. Opted to keep the jeep and get model 3. Still think Rivian is awesome but it certainly isnt a rock crawler. A better rock crawling setup would be duel motor with true locker, so they can use full power side to side.

Each motor has more than 200 horsepower. That’s WAY more than needed to push the truck up that ramp. The problem isn’t that the motor is powerful enough it’s that the software isn’t asking it for any. (Torque at zero rpm is no problem.)

@@WilliamAArnett its torque that is the issue. The max torque is actually made just above 0 RPM's. A jeep in low range produces more power with lockers at a single wheel with a weak little 275 hp motor. The other issue is if it is able to move the wheel its likely to spin like its corked up wheel speed. I think there are a number of mechanical disadvantages here, specially for rock crawling. But only time will tell, guess we will see if they improve without redesign.

@@logan594 Well, I agree that the R1T isn't a very good rock crawler. But not for the reason you posit. IMHO, it's just a software bug, or maybe a missing software feature (plus fragile suspension and vulnerable bumpers and rocker panels). That these things haven't been fixed is probably just a matter of priorities for Rivian, not fundamentals. Yes, theoretically a 275 hp (260 lb-ft) Jeep (3.6L V6 auto) with both axles locked could put send all its torque to a single wheel. But that would only happen if the engine was at almost 5000 rpm, very unlikely. And even so, that's only a little bit more than the R1T is capable of on a single wheel, 908/4=227, and which is available at (nearly) zero rpm. The Jeep has LESS torque than the one-wheel Rivian at all rpms below 2500. In the RTI ramp test there are two wheels with good traction, not one. With two wheels pulling the R1T has way more torque in all cases. Rock crawling is not about power or torque, it's about traction. In my experience there's never been a case where I needed more than a fraction of the Jeep's power when on the rocks. (I have used all the power in sand but of course that's using all 4 wheels.) (And I've seen plenty of examples of guys trying to use all their power on rocks and the end result was something broken.) The problem is that the software just isn't telling the right motor to produce the right amount of torque.

@@WilliamAArnett love the discussion and sharing point of view and experience. Bill, I hope you are right and Rivian can do a little software update.

Wow, @jo9732, you missed the point. Yes, I have some money (enough for a home charger for my EVs). However, not everyone has that luxury, and some have road-trips where they depend on public chargers, so, I was was taking some of my time out to do some investigation. I hope you have love and positivity in your life for 2023 - even if you don’t choose to try and EV.

Hi, I made a follow up video after the service, and it will have the details when they were fresh in my mind. If I recall correctly, it was a suspension problem that got worse with continued use, which then put more stress on other parts of the suspension, so they had to replace more parts then if it would have been fixed right away. Best wishes in your repair!

So true. The economic challenge is gas station dwell time is 11min, with average fill up time of about 5min. Moreover, the mini markets have good margins. The EV charging economic model, with 20-50min dwell time should be linked to Denny’s or truck stops or something open 24hrs that pairs with the charge time.

That’s good news! Thanks for sharing the info.

You are so right. They need a QA team, which they could recruit from EA members that roadtrip and compensate for data collection. I’d do it for a membership credit. They also should simplify, as you point out. Complexity is expensive. EA, we want you to succeed.

Way to go. That is great news! Good job Rivian.

I agree. It is a 6hr round trip for me to the Salida, CO location, and it is about 24F and only going down to 20F tonight. Won’t get to single digits in the forecast for the next week. When it gets to next single digit, let’s test it.

Yes. Good eye! I can charge it from the truck too. It is my escape pod when doing solo off-road trips.