R1T Tailgate Pad for Bikes: An alternative for the swing out bike rack

Rivian Mom · 2025-05-15T14:45:12+00:00

I've been using my phone's hotspot for months, and my Rivian connects to it automatically to run TuneIn and Spotify through the built-in apps on the main display. To be clear, this wasn’t Bluetooth streaming but actual phone data, and the apps worked perfectly without any issues. In Monday for the first time, I saw a Connect+ message pop up, even though the truck was linked to my phone’s data. I can still stream from my phone using Bluetooth, but the sound quality and user experience weren’t as good. This issue started between over-the-air software updates, though it might be tied to a specific date in the system. I tried a soft reset, but nothing changed. Has anyone heard if Rivian changed their policy on this? I remember Connect+ used to mention it provided "data" for streaming apps, suggesting you could use your own data instead. Now, it seems like you need Connect+ just to access the apps at all. I was surprised they allowed phone hotspots to work before, so this might be a deliberate change. I’m okay with paying for Connect+ if this isn’t just a temporary glitch. Any insights would be appreciated.

Vincent

Active Wheeler

Dec 5, 2024

I'm an avid bike lover and so far, I've written a couple of articles on how to carry your bike around when going on a trip.

So if you've not gotten your crossbars yet and you're looking for a solution for your bikes, this might just be a solution for you. As you could go with the tailgate pad as your maiden MTB voyage .

Seems the tire was in the way of the reverse camera making the backup sensor angry, but that can be fixed by moving the bike to a different slot.

The bike doesn't move, and you can see the gear guard cable in action as well. Note this particular pad has tailgate width/shape adjusting straps on the top for the oddly shaped and thick gate. LMK if you have any questions…