Rivian says the R1T electric pickup can wade through up to 3 feet (91 centimeters) of water, which is notably more than a conventional ICE equivalent and some owners are putting this capability to good use. After last week we featured a very popular video showing a Rivian R1T owner launching his boat straight into Bear Lake in Idaho, now he’s uploaded a new video showing the retrieval of the same boat.
The owner chose to launch the boat without the need for a conventional marina because because in doing so he would have had to spend hours waiting in line. Idaho’s lake Bear is also known for its beach that very gently slopes into the water, allowing specially prepared vehicles (sometimes even tractors) to actually enter the water if needed in order to retrieve boats, especially in the event of a storm.
But with its high wading depth and no need for a snorkel or any kind of modifications, all you seem to have to do is put the R1T’s suspension in its highest setting and just drive in until it's deep enough so the boat can move on its own. This isn’t the first time the R1T has made very difficult tasks seem easy and it seems to be giving owners confidence to push their vehicles to the limits of their ability.
According to the uploader and owner of the R1T,
People thought it would be something more special to retrieve the boat than to launch the boat. So, here is the retrieval as a follow up to that launch. We thought about the retrieval almost as much as the launch, but the retrieval was very easy for the R1T. We learned a few things each time, but the retrieval was convenient, safe, and allowed other boaters to get off the lake during a storm. Props to the Rivian Engineering team.
What made the recovery of the boat slightly more tricky than the launch was the fact that the truck had to be backed into the lake with the trailer attached. But once the boat was attached, the Rivian just powered out of the lake thanks to its massive torque from its four individual motors.
