Time to give up the frunk (if you want the Harvester engine)...

[Pogeegitz]

Seriously... The frunk is insanely valuable and utilitarian at it's finest.

Again... I have a pickup truck that's undersized (²R1T³) and yet between the hardcover retractable bed and my front trunk and gear tunnel I have more total cargo capacity while having my two kids in car seats and my wife in my vehicle then somebody driving a gas guzzling behemoth of a Chevy Tahoe.

Seriously the frunk is why oversized vehicles exist and if all vehicles had reasonable sized frunks, we'd be seeing cars 20% smaller then what is commonplace today.

We literally pile more stuff into our car on our Costco and Sam's club's runs than other people who drive those ridiculously sized suvs. My wife has one of those sized SUVs and even she is like I can't believe how great your truck is it's better than my Sequoia.

How people can’t see the value of a secured frunk in a truck/SUV is beyond me. To secure anything of value in my Bronco I had to install a vault and even that has its space limitations. To secure a laptop, camera, firearm, other valuables in a truck and away from prying eyes is heaven sent. And have you ever tried putting anything that smells (like food) inside the cabin - yeah, a frunk solves that too. In my Mach-E, the frunk has a drain hole and can turn into a cooler to hold ice and has two cup holders molded into the plastic. Need to throw your wetsuit into the car after surfing or your muddy hiking boots after a long trek? You guessed it. And then easily hose it down.

If I haven’t convinced you of the value of a frunk, then it’s clearly hopeless.

With all that, Scout understands how important a frunk has become to most consumers today (every Rivian has one) and I can comfortably say I have faith there will a frunk in every model, including the Harvester.

Call me hopeless then....

Everything you tout as an advantage of a frunk already exists in an even better form - it's called a "bed."

 

[ja_kub_sz]

Call me hopeless then....

Everything you tout as an advantage of a frunk already exists in an even better form - it's called a "bed."

The ergonomics are way different, I simply can hit a button and my frunk opens automatically and I'm able to easily grab everything and have it in a more organized storage area that's cleaner. Same thing with the gear tunnel, you can put select items that you still want to be heated and cooled by your cab within the gear tunnel. A bed offers no ability to either heat or cool the items you store.

I've had both an F-150 platinum, and a R1T, not to mention a Model S, and other full size suvs. The ergonomics and function of a frunk are wonderful.

Which is why I put more stuff in my frunk than I do my bed. And also an order of cleanliness too, groceries and children's items easily go in the frunk and gear tunn, versus throwing them in a dirty pickup truck bed.

 

[endlessambition]

The ergonomics are way different, I simply can hit a button and my frunk opens automatically and I'm able to easily grab everything and have it in a more organized storage area that's cleaner. Same thing with the gear tunnel, you can put select items that you still want to be heated and cooled by your cab within the gear tunnel. A bed offers no ability to either heat or cool the items you store.

I've had both an F-150 platinum, and a R1T, not to mention a Model S, and other full size suvs. The ergonomics and function of a frunk are wonderful.

Which is why I put more stuff in my frunk than I do my bed. And also an order of cleanliness too, groceries and children's items easily go in the frunk and gear tunn, versus throwing them in a dirty pickup truck bed.

a big “yes” to all those. The frunk on a day to day basis would be used routinely. The bed u use occasionaly.

 

[Xyst]

The Harvester needs to lose the frunk and add a trunk in the bed of the pickup like the Honda Ridgeline pioneered. The Traveler with a trunk in the rear may be over kill, and difficult to access when the rear hatch area is loaded with gear.

Do the Grenadier thing and put a locking storage compartment in the rear mounted tire. Storage under the floor would still be welcome, it's nice to stash your daily junk down there so it doesn't take up cargo space.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

The idea of a Frunk feels like a novelty to me anyway. I'm all for it, esp. for all the reasons you've mentioned.

It’s a novelty until you use it. Then it’s a game changers. My wife and I use the frunk on our Rivian nearly every single day. It’s even more useful than the Gear Tunnel on the R1T.

 

[JesseS]

I'm a retired engineer - all the best engineers I saw through my career were the ones that could consider a new idea that conflicted with their current design, pivot, and redesign to make a better product (especially prior to production!)

That being said, Scout needs to embrace change once more. They started with an all-electric design and added a range extender to satisfy customer demand. They need to pivot again and place the range extender under the hood and reduce the two complex electric drive systems (BEV and EREV) to one. Use one battery pack for either system, increasing quantity and hopefully quality.

It solves so many issues/questions (don't you think?) Heat; access; engine choice; towing capability...

Fire away if you'd prefer to stick with the current proposed design...

Not sure what you mean? The EREV is just a generator, not connected to the drive system at all, just charges the battery.

 

[Cpfistner]

Coming to this party a bit late but I will weigh in anyway!
- Totally agree that this design should remain an EV with the option of a range extender but no transmission transfer case and all that stuff. EV drivetrains simply work better and I imagine that everyone who drives just about any type of EV today would agree.
- I would also prefer the ICE under hood for multiple reasons: it‘s easier to service because of accessibility, you can fit different versions if need be, and I don’t have a need for a frunk. I can see the practicality of a frunk but I‘d gladly trade that for a better ICE generator setup.

Thoughts?