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Rivian Confirms R1 Cargo Crossbars Will Not Fit the R2
Rivian confirmed in a social post today that the Cargo Crossbars sold for R1 will not be interchangeable with R2, which is going to sting for anyone planning to own both.
Rivian didn’t really explain why, but if you’ve been looking at R2 photos from the Block Party you can probably see where this is going. The roof setup on R2 looks a little different and the mounting points appear to be doing their own thing.
Still, this is a bummer. The Silver version goes for $700 and the Dark version for $800, so anyone already invested in a set for their R1 was probably hoping they’d carry over.
For a brand that leans this hard into the adventure lifestyle, it’s a weird thing for two-vehicle households to absorb. Hopefully an R2-specific version shows up at a friendlier price, since the whole point of R2 is supposed to be unlocking this stuff for more people.
I’m curious if they are at least planning future versions of the cross bars to be forward and backward compatible. As I understand it, the old bars are not adjustable enough to fit the smaller roof, so maybe the ones made for the R2 will expand enough to fit the larger roofs?
Why should they fit? Entirely different vehicle. R1 was, in many ways, an experiment. R2 has to improve on many aspects so why hogtie it to backwards compatibility to a different vehicle?
Additionally – for anyone that has a ~$100,000 R1, has the time and money for an outdoor lifestyle, can afford a second EV… the cost of a second set of rails is chump change. I doubt many will be sweating buying a unique set for the R2.
Dude, preach. The only thing the R2 has that is the same as the R1S is that it is made in the same plant, and that’s a good thing. It shows iteration and improvements over the last generation of vehicles. I am curious to know how many parts are shared between the two platforms, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it is less than 10%.
You vehicles are to expensive and have been since day one.
Get ready to go bankrupt.
R2 crossbars were supposed to include electrical connections for power and accessories, and therefore assumed to be of a different design, and acceptably not compatible. Then Rivian cut that feature. I’ll bet mechanically the crossbar mounts were too far along to walk back.
The number of people who will own both R1 and R2 will be a small percentage
The numbers of people who get crossbars is a small percentage
The number of people from r these small percentages who will be pissed off for not having to take the R2 on the adventure and R1 – when loading the crossbars with luggage will be essentially 0 – you only get above the roof if your boot is full and you’d take the R1 out for that anyway
Exactly.
I dont recall the cargo bars being electrified for feature support. There was a utility hitch in the early prototypes that was powered for future ideas, but they abandoned that due to complexity a long time ago. So much Rivian has focused on has been simplifying operations and supply. There is no logical reason to make them different. It adds complexity and even if a small fraction of their customer base overlaps with the 2 models, why keep them separate. For sure this was discussed in a meeting, and there is some PowerPoint deck that says we can make $X more if they are different but the cost of the anchor points is negligible. I dont take this as a design decision but about money.
That said, I wish Rivian made more Pro-consumer decisions. I get they need to survive, but the nickel and diming attitude has limits for people and can ultimately turn people off.
For a company that markets themselves as a supporter of the planet and is trying to build a loyal customer base, having gear like this that is not interchangeable is yet another step in the wrong direction. I’ve got different roof racks for each vehicle I own, and I was looking forward to not having to buy and store something else that is not needed very often.
It appears the issue with the R1 Cross bars is smallest length they can go is 45″. the spacing on the R2 front brackers is about 45.5″, which means they could work there, but is at about 43″ on the rear mounts that the R1 cross bars would be too long for. I question if Rivian will come out with a 2nd series bar that could work for both in length adjustability. The roof mounts might appear different but the bar attachment approach and clearance around the center roof receiver bar (that the claw and mount seat into) works the same, just seats differently.