Rivian's Retractable Camp Kitchen Costs $5,000

Electric-vehicle manufacturers often tout their products’ ability to double as a mobile generator for laborers needing a place to plug in their tools. But a few have also suggested a reliable power source would be similarly beneficial for recreational actives. In 2019, Rivian began showcasing the camp kitchen its designers had made fit into the gear tunnel located between the R1T’s truck bed and passenger cabin. Easily deployed, the kitchen comes with an electric stovetop, electric kettle, small sink (fed by a five-gallon water tank), and enough storage space to house the items necessary to cook and serve a meal.

It was looking like an incredibly slick option for woodsy weekend warriors — until we learned the price, that is.

A recent posting on the Rivian Owners Forum noted that the kit was retailing for a whopping $5,000 on the company’s soon to be updated website configurator. Having taken a peak for ourselves using a reservation holder’s login (thanks, Sam), the system doesn’t appear to be a stellar deal. Campers taking a piecemeal approach to the culinary arts could easily cobble together an equally capable propane kitchen for thousands less.

Of course, they’ll be missing out on the countertop made from recycled materials and novel storage solution made possible by the system’s clever design. Though owners really only benefit from how easy it is to store and setup. Since Rivian’s kitchen lives inside the gear tunnel, that space is now wholly devoted to it. A portable stove, water basin, and collapsible table would likely take up substantially less real estate in the bed and could leave the tunnel open for tenting equipment or luggage.

Building a woodland kitchen with similar capabilities could be done for a few hundred bucks, making the $5,000 fee seem borderline ludicrous. But there’s not really anything else like this on the market right now and opting for a popup trailer with a kitchenette of its own would likely take you into five figures. It’s also worth remembering that the First Edition R1T retails for $75,000 and helps define the kind of customers Rivian had in mind when it considered the retractable camp kitchen. They might be the exact kind of person to ready to spend five grand on a micro range/sink before dumping even more money on the 30-piece prep and cookware set from Snow Peak that Rivian is selling separately.

Browsing the website, which will be open to the public on November 23rd, we also learned that the larger 400+ battery pack will come with a $10,000 surcharge and that Rivian plans on offering a fairly diverse array of interior color and wheel options (same for the R1S SUV). Some of those items don’t appear as if they’ll be available on the first batch of EVs, however. The battery at least seems like it won’t be available until the Adventure and Explorer trims drop in January 2022.

[Images: Rivian]