11 ms·

Am I the only one who finds the spare tire location an absolute deal breaker? You have to unload the payload, and lift up the payload bed floor in order to acc

Am I the only one who finds the spare tire location an absolute deal breaker? You have to unload the payload, and lift up the payload bed floor in order to access the spare. Now, I suppose this doesn't matter much to Amazon. But I have had the experience of being out the back-country where cell phones don't work, miles from a highway, changing a truck tire by myself. If I had to spend 1 or 2 hours unloading the truck before I could get at the spare, that would be a huge issue. At one point I was seriously considering writing a deposit check for a Rivian. The spare tire location told me instantly that this truck is not for me -- the designers have no idea how trucks are actually used. The utter cluelessness of that design decision boggles me.

_AzMoo 7y ago
Can't be too hard to just mount a wheel carrier in the bed, or swinging on the rear, and just use that spot as extra storage though. I don't know a single off-roader who doesn't mod their vehicle in similar ways to make up for perceived shortcomings.
- oh_sigh 7y ago
  Sure, but one begins to wonder how much knowledge this company has of actual usage if they get something this straightforward wrong.
  - greglindahl 7y ago
    Didn't someone give a big list of trucks that already do this, last time it came up?
  - jiveturkey 7y ago
    If they are targeting sales to a small number of large fleets, this doesn't matter. In fleet operations, the driver will never ever be allowed to change a tire. This is simply not acceptable, insurance-wise. You will dispatch a second truck to handle the delivery and also a tire repair service truck. An electric delivery truck is probably not even in the cards for small players, where gas or diesel is a better option all around.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
- dbcurtis 7y ago
  > Can't be too hard to just mount a wheel carrier in the bed Um... yeah. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a truck.
  - _AzMoo 7y ago
    You stand them upright so you've still got plenty of space in the bed. It's very common here in Australia.
rotten 7y ago
Many new cars don't come with spare tires any more, so at least they have one.
Angostura 7y ago
I understand your annoyance, but these days I carry a can of spray-in gloop for punctures.
- mauvehaus 7y ago
  Your local tire shop will not be delighted about this. I'm told the spray in gloop gets everywhere and makes changing the tire (removing it from the rim and installing a new one) hell for the techs.
  - Angostura 7y ago
    My local tyre shop is used to it because sadly (in the UK) the majprity of fmily cars are sold without a spare wheel.
- dbcurtis 7y ago
  That can work for punctures. The back-country that I go to regularly has granite rocks that can sometimes have a sharp edge. The particular tire I was changing was a 4-steel-ply contractor-grade truck tire, two weeks old, that somehow got cross-wise of a piece of split granite that put a 3 inch gash in it. Goop will not do it in that case. I am still amazed at the damage that rock did. But hey, that's life in the mountains.
brianwawok 7y ago
Where can I find details on this part?
- dbcurtis 7y ago
  https://www.tfltruck.com/2018/11/rivian-r1t-electric-truck-promises-insane-performance-750-horsepower-400-miles-of-range-can-this-be-true/rivian-r1t-bed-spare-tire/ https://www.tfltruck.com/2018/11/rivian-r1t-electric-truck-p... Nice picture there. Also, search Rivian on the TFL Trucks web site for everything they have ever done on the Rivian.
MisterTea 7y ago
Honestly in this day and age, Amazon is better off having a service company come and change the tire so as to avoid workplace injuries and other liabilities. Most companies are able to bring spares from their stock.
- dbcurtis 7y ago
  Oh, sure, absolutely. An Amazon driver just calls service and goes about his business. That is different from the average truck-user case.
m463 7y ago
I don't know if this is a factor, but trucks and SUVs with externally accessible tires are at risk of theft. Additionally, heavily loaded vehicles should really have both special care and special jacks to change the tire with a load intact.
notatoad 7y ago
honestly, "how trucks are actually used" is mostly in a city, commuting to and from work, with the bed completely empty.

_AzMoo 7y ago

Can't be too hard to just mount a wheel carrier in the bed, or swinging on the rear, and just use that spot as extra storage though. I don't know a single off-roader who doesn't mod their vehicle in similar ways to make up for perceived shortcomings.

oh_sigh 7y ago
Sure, but one begins to wonder how much knowledge this company has of actual usage if they get something this straightforward wrong.
- greglindahl 7y ago
  Didn't someone give a big list of trucks that already do this, last time it came up?
- jiveturkey 7y ago
  If they are targeting sales to a small number of large fleets, this doesn't matter. In fleet operations, the driver will never ever be allowed to change a tire. This is simply not acceptable, insurance-wise. You will dispatch a second truck to handle the delivery and also a tire repair service truck. An electric delivery truck is probably not even in the cards for small players, where gas or diesel is a better option all around.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
dbcurtis 7y ago
> Can't be too hard to just mount a wheel carrier in the bed Um... yeah. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a truck.
- _AzMoo 7y ago
  You stand them upright so you've still got plenty of space in the bed. It's very common here in Australia.

rotten 7y ago

Many new cars don't come with spare tires any more, so at least they have one.

Angostura 7y ago

I understand your annoyance, but these days I carry a can of spray-in gloop for punctures.

mauvehaus 7y ago
Your local tire shop will not be delighted about this. I'm told the spray in gloop gets everywhere and makes changing the tire (removing it from the rim and installing a new one) hell for the techs.
- Angostura 7y ago
  My local tyre shop is used to it because sadly (in the UK) the majprity of fmily cars are sold without a spare wheel.
dbcurtis 7y ago
That can work for punctures. The back-country that I go to regularly has granite rocks that can sometimes have a sharp edge. The particular tire I was changing was a 4-steel-ply contractor-grade truck tire, two weeks old, that somehow got cross-wise of a piece of split granite that put a 3 inch gash in it. Goop will not do it in that case. I am still amazed at the damage that rock did. But hey, that's life in the mountains.

brianwawok 7y ago

Where can I find details on this part?

dbcurtis 7y ago
https://www.tfltruck.com/2018/11/rivian-r1t-electric-truck-promises-insane-performance-750-horsepower-400-miles-of-range-can-this-be-true/rivian-r1t-bed-spare-tire/ https://www.tfltruck.com/2018/11/rivian-r1t-electric-truck-p... Nice picture there. Also, search Rivian on the TFL Trucks web site for everything they have ever done on the Rivian.

MisterTea 7y ago

Honestly in this day and age, Amazon is better off having a service company come and change the tire so as to avoid workplace injuries and other liabilities. Most companies are able to bring spares from their stock.

dbcurtis 7y ago
Oh, sure, absolutely. An Amazon driver just calls service and goes about his business. That is different from the average truck-user case.

m463 7y ago

I don't know if this is a factor, but trucks and SUVs with externally accessible tires are at risk of theft. Additionally, heavily loaded vehicles should really have both special care and special jacks to change the tire with a load intact.

notatoad 7y ago

honestly, "how trucks are actually used" is mostly in a city, commuting to and from work, with the bed completely empty.