The Rivian R1T's slide-out camp kitchen is a clever EV accessory that could soon see a new iteration.
A patent application published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on July 18, after being filed by Rivian in 2023, shows an alternative camp-kitchen design. The cooking apparatus still slides out of the Gear Tunnel pass-through located behind the cab, but now includes a grill.
Patent image of a Rivian camp kitchen with grill
The grill appears to be a downsized version of the standard cookout item, designed to fit into the Gear Tunnel and attach to the same shuttle mechanism used for the original version of the camp kitchen. Like that version, it's also powered by the R1T's battery pack.
Rivian began showing off its original camp kitchen in 2019, and advertised it at $5,000, but kept pushing back the launch before removing the camp kitchen from its online configurator altogether in 2023. So the usual caveat that patented ideas do not equate to production plans deserves extra emphasis here.
Patent image of a Rivian camp kitchen with grill
This isn't the only potential redesign of the camp kitchen Rivian has tried to patent, though. Another patent application showing a camp kitchen for the R1S SUV surfaced in Oct. 2023. Because the R1S lacks a Gear Tunnel, the camp kitchen deployed from the SUV's tailgate.
Rivian has plenty of complete models to finish in addition to new accessories. The $45,000 R2 SUV is slated to start production in 2026, followed by the R3X and R3 hatchbacks. And Rivian just teased some additional EVs in its announcement of a tie-up with the Volkswagen Group.
