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

As described in a patent utility revealed by america Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) on Dec. 21, 2023 (and initially filed on Jun. 21, 2022), this new storage choice takes the type of a drop-down tray that may be positioned beneath the mattress ground and behind the rear wheels.

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

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

Such a setup can be very completely different from the underbed storage presently supplied within the R1T. In that truck, a bit of the mattress ground lifts as much as reveal a storage compartment, related to what’s presently discovered within 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 tough 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 embody a Ram Field-like mattress storage system for pickups and spare wheel storage containers for SUVs.