Rolled the R1S out to Campsite Brewing Company in West Covina for the San Gabriel Valley Rivian Club’s Frunk or Treat. Halloween socks on. Gear Guard Gary riding shotgun. And honestly, the creativity in this club is on another level.
The Frunks Were the Show
Every R1T and R1S in the lot had something going on. Spiders crawling out of truck beds. Orange lights wrapped through frunks. A dark green R1T with a full Frankenstein graphic across the tailgate and “BOO” balloons floating off the back. That one stopped me.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t deck out my own frunk. Just didn’t have the time. Gear Guard Gary was eating up all my prep cycles. But seeing how far other owners went with theirs made me want to come back next year and actually compete.
Back to the Future, Rivian Edition
The undisputed winner was Vic’s R1T. Full Back to the Future theme. Marty McFly. Doc Brown. And the kicker, a working Flux Capacitor mounted inside the frunk. People were crowding around that one for a reason.
Even the license plate read “OUTATIME.” The radioactive caution sign on the underside of the frunk lid was the final touch.
If Vic looks familiar, that’s because I just walked through his overlanding build, the same guy who turned his Gen 1 Quad R1S into a fully off-grid basecamp. Dude commits to a theme.
The Halloween Software Update FOMO
Quick gripe. I was the only one in the lot without the Rivian Halloween software update. Everyone else had pumpkins and spider webs animating across their screens. Halloween was less than a week out and mine still hadn’t rolled in. Rivian, if you’re reading this, push faster.
Mud, Tri-Motors, and Rock Sliders
Got into the gear-head conversations too. Art brought his Tri-Motor R1T and walked me through his Goat Industries rock sliders. The thing he liked most: they keep the jack points exposed, so Rivian service doesn’t make you pull them off. Underneath looked clean. A few battle scars, but the sliders did their job.
Then there was Allan. His R1T showed up caked in mud, full stripes down the side from a real off-road run. Turns out he’d just gotten back from Red Rock Canyon State Park up by Mojave, about 25 miles north. Big multi-club meetup. Las Vegas, Orange County, and San Diego Rivian clubs all rolled out together. Stargazing the night before. That’s the kind of trip I want to make next.
The Community Is the Real Win
Every time I’m at one of these I leave reminded why I keep showing up. Same crew that ran the SGV meetup last year, now bigger, more themed, more dialed in. We talked accessories, off-road runs, build ideas. Then we moved indoors because the weather cooled off. Campsite has the space for it, and the beer doesn’t hurt either.
If you missed this one, the Rove Frunk or Treat from last year is worth a look too. Different lot, same energy.
Happy Halloween, y’all. If you’re in SoCal and haven’t hit a Rivian club meetup yet, find one. They’re worth the drive.
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