The Rivian R1T electrical truck already boasts underbed storage and a intelligent tunnel aft of the cab, however the automaker is taking a look at one other storage possibility for future vans.

As described in a patent software printed by the US Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) on Dec. 21, 2023 (and initially filed on Jun. 21, 2022), this new storage possibility takes the type of a drop-down tray that will be situated beneath the mattress flooring and behind the rear wheels.

This storage tray could possibly be configured in numerous methods, in line with the appliance. It may slide out horizontally, swing down, or rotate for entry. An extension is also in-built that will slide out previous the rear bumper, Rivian suggests. The bumper is also divided into two sections, with one part reducing out of the way in which when the tray is being deployed.

As Rivian notes within the software, this setup places the storage tray in roughly the identical space because the spare wheel. The automaker’s resolution is to mount the spare on a separate platform that may pivot out of the way in which of the storage tray.

Rivian underbed drop-down storage tray

Such a setup could be very completely different from the underbed storage presently supplied within the R1T. In that truck, a piece of the mattress flooring lifts as much as reveal a storage compartment, comparable to what’s presently present in the Honda Ridgeline pickup. This model appears to take up an analogous quantity of area in an analogous space of the truck, however with extra complexity.

It is admittedly troublesome to foretell manufacturing plans from patent filings, as a few of these concepts by no means make it to manufacturing automobiles.

Rivian has additionally been experimenting with completely different storage concepts recently. Different current patent purposes from the automaker embrace a Ram Field-like mattress storage system for pickups and spare wheel storage containers for SUVs.