Rivian Blue
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- Nov 14, 2024
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- Rivian
- R1S Rivian Blue
We took advantage of an unusually warm day to go SUPing last week. I was too lazy to rig up the bed rack, so I worked up a simple soft rack that would install quickly and protect the roof of our R1S.
Used the old trick of just grabbing a couple pool noodles. I initially was going to use a ratchet strap to hold them in place, but --aside from it always being a pain to thread a flat strap through a small round hole -- it occurred to me that the Rivian attachment points really are ideal for rope lines.
So here's my solution:
1. Cut a pool noodle to length, roughly the distance between anchor points on the roof.
2. Thread a line through the noodle. We used 1/4" generic paracord. Heavier line would work but might make feeding through the anchors more tricky. I measured out 3x the length of the noodle just to have plenty of line.
3. Tied a modified Ashley knot as a soft shackle button, adding a small loop to the top. Use whatever method you like to secure the line to the anchor points.
4. Slip a loop through an anchor point and push the soft shackle button through.
5. Feed a loop through the other side and pull the loose line through that. It's good to get it pretty taut to limit noodle drift. Put another hitch in it if you like to keep the line from slipping.
6. Do the same for a second noodle and tie it to the roof.
7. Place your SUPs or whatever you're hauling on top of the noodles.
You can either toss the free end of the line back over your boards or, if you don't want rope directly rubbing on the board, thread another noodle. (If you do want to do a 2 noodle setup, it would probably be best to put the soft shackle button between the 2 noodles and tie the loose ends to the same side each time. This prevents having to thread a noodle each time.)
8. Consider looping the line through whatever anchor points you have on your board. If you don't secure it well, under wind loads it could slip back or to one side. Pulling it taut is a good way to prevent that.
9. Secure the loose line end through that loop on the Ashley knot. Come back with a trucker's hitch if you want good tension.
10. We did 30 miles on the freeway at 70mph with this setup and 2 boards. Worked like a champ. Not sure I would trust it at those speeds i with inflatable SUPs or anything that catches a lot of wind.
Anyway... kind of just did this on a lark to see how it would work out. A $20 experiment if you will. Good in a pinch if you have a surprise hauling need. This does not prevent transfer of weight to the glass roof, so obviously don't try to haul anything heavy with this setup. Easy to store in the spare tire compartment, or even under the rear seat.
Used the old trick of just grabbing a couple pool noodles. I initially was going to use a ratchet strap to hold them in place, but --aside from it always being a pain to thread a flat strap through a small round hole -- it occurred to me that the Rivian attachment points really are ideal for rope lines.
So here's my solution:
1. Cut a pool noodle to length, roughly the distance between anchor points on the roof.
2. Thread a line through the noodle. We used 1/4" generic paracord. Heavier line would work but might make feeding through the anchors more tricky. I measured out 3x the length of the noodle just to have plenty of line.
3. Tied a modified Ashley knot as a soft shackle button, adding a small loop to the top. Use whatever method you like to secure the line to the anchor points.
4. Slip a loop through an anchor point and push the soft shackle button through.
5. Feed a loop through the other side and pull the loose line through that. It's good to get it pretty taut to limit noodle drift. Put another hitch in it if you like to keep the line from slipping.
6. Do the same for a second noodle and tie it to the roof.
7. Place your SUPs or whatever you're hauling on top of the noodles.
You can either toss the free end of the line back over your boards or, if you don't want rope directly rubbing on the board, thread another noodle. (If you do want to do a 2 noodle setup, it would probably be best to put the soft shackle button between the 2 noodles and tie the loose ends to the same side each time. This prevents having to thread a noodle each time.)
8. Consider looping the line through whatever anchor points you have on your board. If you don't secure it well, under wind loads it could slip back or to one side. Pulling it taut is a good way to prevent that.
9. Secure the loose line end through that loop on the Ashley knot. Come back with a trucker's hitch if you want good tension.
10. We did 30 miles on the freeway at 70mph with this setup and 2 boards. Worked like a champ. Not sure I would trust it at those speeds i with inflatable SUPs or anything that catches a lot of wind.
Anyway... kind of just did this on a lark to see how it would work out. A $20 experiment if you will. Good in a pinch if you have a surprise hauling need. This does not prevent transfer of weight to the glass roof, so obviously don't try to haul anything heavy with this setup. Easy to store in the spare tire compartment, or even under the rear seat.
