Rivian owner details the things he 'hates' about the truck — but he still loves it

Zack Nelson broke down some of his favorite and least favorite aspects of owning a Rivian.
YouTube

Tech YouTuber Zack Nelson said he put his Rivian R1T truck to the test over the past year.
Nelson found some issues with the EV, including doors that don’t drain and soil in his undercarriage.
However, he said its performance outweighs any issues, and it’s still his favorite vehicle.

Tech YouTuber Zack Nelson, also known as JerryRigEverything, pointed out several issues he had with his Rivian R1T after a year of owning it and over 10,000 miles of driving — from doors that are filled with water to a plant growing in his EV’s undercarriage.

“The R1T is an electric truck and I would assume that an electric truck would just be able to do truck things,” Nelson said in a YouTube video pointing out some of the things he “hates” about the vehicle. 

Nelson, who runs an off road wheelchair company called Not A Wheelchair, said he’s filled the bed of the truck with all manner of things — from horse poop to dirt and gravel — and used it to haul over 11,000 pounds and even gone off-roading with it. Outside of some “super minor issues,” like a broken tonneau and replacing a shock under warranty, Nelson said there were some problem areas he felt were a “pretty big deal.”

In his YouTube video, Nelson points out that water got into the doors of his car and sloshed around even after the automaker enlarged the vents on the doors to help more of the liquid drain.

Another “major issue” the YouTuber pointed out is that the R1T’s extending flap on the bed of the truck — which makes it easier to haul things like lumber — can allow for loose soil and gravel to fill the sealed undercarriage of the vehicle through slots on either side of the tailgate.

“There’s probably a solid two or three shovel-fulls of dirt, horse poop, and mulch down in there that I have no access to and now I’m forever hauling around that handful of rocks,” Nelson said in the video. “And not to mention down there is where the battery and high voltage components are.”

In the video, Nelson showed that there was so much loose soil in his EV’s undercarriage that a plant had begun to grow within the recesses of his car — a build-up that could cause the truck to rust.

Zack Nelson said a plant was growing in the undercarriage of his Rivian.
YouTube

A Rivian spokesperson told Insider the company is always looking for ways to improve its vehicles.

“Creators like Zack are a fantastic window into how our products enable all kinds of experiences, dirt and all,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “When things do go wrong, we have a nationwide and growing service team that is able to address issues and get people back on the road as quickly as we can.”

‘Exciting to drive even a year and a half after my first drive’

Despite some of the things he says he hates about the vehicle, Nelson — who has owned and driven a wide variety of vehicles from a Tesla Roadster and Model X to the F-150 Lightning — told Insider the truck is still his favorite vehicle he’s ever driven.

“It’s a truck with the performance of a sports car, but all the abilities of a truck. I really like the handling and acceleration. When you’re towing something you can barely tell it’s there. Its so strong and powerful, it makes a gas-powered truck feel archaic,” Nelson said.

“It’s exciting to drive even a year and a half after my first drive in it,” he added.

Nelson told Insider that he’d expected to take the car in for a variety repairs as a first adopter, but has been pleasantly surprised by the company’s customer service, extensive warranty, and a lack of serious quality control issues.

“It’s kind of a leap of faith buying a truck from a new car company, especially because you have to worry whether they have what it takes to stay in business,” he said. “But, I jumped in and I can’t say I regret it.”