If you’ve been patiently waiting to add Rivian’s Travel Kitchen to your truck, the day has finally come — it is now available to purchase. However, there’s a catch — the accessory may not be as cool as originally promised. That’s because the new foldable outdoor kitchen from Rivian unfolds onto the truck’s tailgate, rather than slide out of a cross-body storage cubby built within the cab of the truck.
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The cubby, known as the Gear Tunnel and available on the R1T, is made possible because an EV doesn’t need a drivetrain running across its body as a gas-powered truck does. The 11.6 cubic-foot space was one of the most unique and coolest features of the Rivian R1T when SlashGear first took the EV pickup for a drive.
The manufacturer had originally promised that the Camp Kitchen could slide out from the Gear Tunnel — offering drivers a small sink and induction cook surface powered by the EV’s own battery — which would make camping and tailgating more convenient than ever. However, Rivian ended up disappointing many when it canceled the interesting feature. While the Gear Kitchen is finally available, it no longer slides out from the Gear Tunnel. This may make it more boring from a design standpoint, but it does have its advantages — namely, that it’s now also compatible with the R1S SUV and that it can work as its own standalone kitchen that can be operated away from the EV. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper than originally promised.
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Rivian Made One Of Its Coolest Accessories Boring (But For A Good Reason)
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