What is Rivian's New Camp Mode?
Watch the company's founder discuss the new features, coming in a future OTA update to R1S and R1T models.
If you've ever drooled over gear in an REI store or the like, the Rivian R1S SUV and R1T pickup seem like tailor-made fantasy rigs. Just consider the R1T's gear tunnel and its optional Camp Kitchen module. An upcoming OTA update will apparently make camping in a Rivian that much nicer, as founder RJ Scaringe revealed in a recent tweet teasing the company's new Camp Mode from the driver's seat of an R1S SUV.
0:00 / 0:00
The new mode seems like a repurposing of existing functionality, grouped in a way to make camping a little more comfortable and convenient. For starters, Camp Mode will put the EV in a "deep sleep" to reduce power draw—no word on whether this will allow or disable climate control, but perhaps it'll put it in a more efficient mode. Camp Mode will also turn off the interior displays to keep the cabin nice and dark so you can sleep inside, if you wish. A "courtesy mode" will keep things quiet inside, too.
The floodlights embedded in the mirrors can be used to illuminate the campsite as well. But the most useful bit might be the auto-leveling capabilities of Camp Mode. Anyone who's ever suffered in a tent on uneven ground—sliding off your sleeping mat, or worse—will appreciate that the system can level the vehicle to make sleeping inside (or on top, in a roof-top tent) a little more comfortable.
Remember, the underlying Rivian is a phenomenal vehicle—the R1T took the Truck of the Year crown. All of these additional features, like the excellent camp kitchen, Rivian-branded Yakima RTT, and gear tunnel, are just gravy. The adventure crowd is Rivian's niche, and we expect a steady drumbeat of new features, accessories, and improvements. And, hopefully, a couple of new models like the Adventure Van and R1X that we expect to arrive in the future.
Like a lot of the other staffers here, Alex Kierstein took the hard way to get to car writing. Although he always loved cars, he wasn’t sure a career in automotive media could possibly pan out. So, after an undergraduate degree in English at the University of Washington, he headed to law school. To be clear, it sucked. After a lot of false starts, and with little else to lose, he got a job at Turn 10 Studios supporting the Forza 4 and Forza Horizon 1 launches. The friendships made there led to a job at a major automotive publication in Michigan, and after a few years to MotorTrend. He lives in the Seattle area with a small but scruffy fleet of great vehicles, including a V-8 4Runner and a C5 Corvette, and he also dabbles in scruffy vintage watches and film cameras.
Read More
