This Rivian R1T Safari Rig Looks Like the Ultimate All-Terrain Golf Cart
Slightly silly looks aside, the Rivian makes a neat choice for a safari rig for a few reasons.
Electric trucks' silent operation helps them excel at exploring the outdoors. It also helps in caring for it too, like the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust does with Rivian R1T pickups custom-modified for safari duty.
These photos of the trucks were taken by an environmental lawyer visiting Kenya and then circulated on Rivian Forums and Facebook. They show a Rivian converted to right-hand drive (Kenya drives on the left), and its cab cut away from its beltline up. That allows it to fit a safari canopy and four rows of seats, for a passenger capacity of eight, with excellent visibility in all directions.
It's the perfect vehicle for wilderness tours and conservation, as the R1T's electric drivetrain doesn't drown out the sounds of nature, or startle animals the way combustion engines can. Should a bull elephant or hippo charge the truck, its dual- or quad-motor four-wheel drive can skedaddle it to safety—and over any terrain, with excellent ground clearance, suspension articulation, and traction.
They're not just for sightseeing, either; they're also vital maintenance vehicles. The Trust says it uses its Rivians for anti-poaching operations, transporting firefighters and rangers, and local health and education programs. It charges the trucks using a solar power array, which with Kenya literally on the equator works well at all times of year.
The Rivian in these photos might be based on one of the four originally delivered to the Trust in October 2022, as part of a conservation pilot project with Rivian. A series of R1S SUVs are supposed to follow—it's not clear if they'll be modified in the same fashion, but it's hard to imagine them being any less of off-road all-stars than the R1Ts are.
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