After publishing Join a Motorcycle Tech Day: Build Skills, Friends, Confidence, and Savings, my dad sent me a similar article from the Wall Street Journal, which was published the next day. The article details how Millennials are learning to fix their own vehicles to save money in a highly inflationary economy.
I remember that phase of my life when every dollar meant something. I’d moved from a relatively low-cost area to the San Francisco Bay—the most expensive large city to live in the continental US. I was saving for retirement, saving for a new vehicle, and saving to ride motorcycles with fresh new tires. Hell, I was saving for dinner at Taco bell at the end of the week. Every dollar really did matter.
One day, when I was in the truck backing out of a garage, my mirror hit the side of the garage and shattered into a million pieces. I instantly felt the “fuuuu…” run through my head and down my spine. The last thing I wanted to do was go through insurance. I’d have to pay for my mistake twice: increased premiums on the car AND the motorcycle.
In these days, eBay was new on the scene and YouTube hadn’t been invented – much less mainstream. I found an aftermarket mirror that was 70% cheaper than the equivalent Ford product – what could be different, eh? The listing said it was motorized, worked with my truck, and had a mirror in it, score! I made my way through my library’s interlibrary loan program, Link+, to acquire Chilton’s service manual for the truck. It was a bit of courage, a few tools, and a lot of patience, however, I was able to disassemble the door, install the mirror, and be back on the road. The reflection in the glass between the Ford mirror and by newly found purchase couldn’t have been more different. Notwithstanding, I could see behind me and that was good enough for now.
That experience in my formative years helped me build a practice of learning to work on my truck. This experience and the burgeoning discipline of motorcycle maintenance has always prompted me to ask for Tech Days in any vehicle club I’ve been a part of—the Bay Area Rivian Club is no exception.
What’s different in every other club I’ve been a part of is someone has the answers or we can find them somewhere. Because Rivian is so new, there’s no service manual scanned into a PDF in the back alleys of the Internet. There aren’t tons of YouTube videos talking about how to perform common maintenance tasks on the vehicle. As club members, we have to consolidate experience, scour the Internet, and do educated discovery.
On average, electric vehicles require less maintenance than their gasoline-powered counterparts. However, that doesn’t mean that electric vehicles are maintenance-free. The three most common maintenance items with Rivian: rotating tires, swapping out the cabin air filter, and changing the wiper blades. I wanted to make sure we covered these three basics that would apply to all members and open up space for members who wanted to do more technical projects. While seemingly straightforward, Rivian requires a few specific nuances when changing tires, cabin air filters, and windshield wipers to perform the service correctly. Also, we had a few members take on more technical projects like installing rock sliders, updating their horn, and installing additional lighting.
Tires
I wasn’t rotating tires. I was installing new ones. I wanted to migrate from the 21-inch rims to the 20-inch rims which are much more suited for adventure in the mountains. The 21-inch rims are designed to be energy-efficient pavement tires. The 20-inch rims (and the corresponding tires) do much better in the mud and snow, and have significantly more tire choices available (which drives down prices), and enables me to recreate with the club more flexibly.
It was great to be able to jack up the truck, learn tips on how to use wheel chocks to secure the truck and learn how to remove and install tires. The rim and tire was significantly heavier than I expected it to be. The lug nuts required significantly more torque than I had thought. Tightening the lug nuts four times in the star pattern cemented how to do it right – for which I am thankful. It’s the skill I never hope to use, but glad I know how should I need it in the field.
Cabin Air Filter
Most of us (including me) don’t really think about replacing the cabin air filter. I’d noticed over time that the airflow from the HVAC system seemed to be getting weaker. I’d done some trips out in the dirt with the club as the last car in the caravan. I’m sure my HVAC system picked up its share of fine grit in the dust cloud impacting it’s performance.
Removing the cabin air filter isn’t that hard, but I appreciated having somebody more experienced working with plastics next to me. The cabin air filter is underneath the hood, right in the middle of the vehicle-length panel next to the windshield. Due to its length, removing and reinstalling it is a touch easier with two people.
Popping out the air filter is decidedly simple. When you reinstall the new filter, note the flow of air.
Other Errata
My windshield wipers are still in good shape, so I didn’t need a replacement. It was neat to see other Rivian owners get deeper into their trucks than I did mine. One truck owner took out the frunk, and another disassembled the wheel well to replace the well-known anemic horn, and someone else installed rock sliders.
The other side benefit is the amount of conversation and camaraderie from the event. Some of the members had done considerable renting on their trucks before. Some of us wanted to learn (like me!) Others just wanted to observe and socialize. Since were not driving in our trucks, it was a great morning of community building across our growing club! People brought all kinds of tools that were not in my garage. It was great to see what kinds of things are out in the field.
Would I recommend the tech day? Absolutely!
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