I always though that the starting rover/pod was intentionally substandard so the player would make a better one on their own.

It has a little bit of armor on it; in fact, the one piece of heavy armor on the rover is a slope just in front of the battery (although on my start that block was damaged & didn't have the metal grid - I'm not sure if that is standard or if I landed on something when the parachute cut off). Once you either find cobalt or take apart a few unknown signals, you can armor the battery properly, and it wouldn't be too hard to jack the rover up and move things around a bit. The only other blocks that you could lose something by moving are the gas tanks, and those you can make a new tank, stockpile to move the gas, then take apart the old tank.

Part of the problem is that to get the rover as short as it is, you need access to the ports on the back of the cockpit and the front of the survival kit, so you can't just put the battery flush with the bottom of those blocks. I normally turn the rover into a flyer once I have metal grids (10 for 4 small D-thrusters, and 2 3x3x1 D thrusters), and only really drive on perfectly flat ground ... a quick flight gets me over any cliffs or rough patches. Beyond that, you are probably looking at a total redesign or just building a second rover.

Originally posted by Other:

It has a little bit of armor on it; in fact, the one piece of heavy armor on the rover is a slope just in front of the battery (although on my start that block was damaged & didn't have the metal grid - I'm not sure if that is standard or if I landed on something when the parachute cut off). Once you either find cobalt or take apart a few unknown signals, you can armor the battery properly, and it wouldn't be too hard to jack the rover up and move things around a bit. The only other blocks that you could lose something by moving are the gas tanks, and those you can make a new tank, stockpile to move the gas, then take apart the old tank.

Part of the problem is that to get the rover as short as it is, you need access to the ports on the back of the cockpit and the front of the survival kit, so you can't just put the battery flush with the bottom of those blocks. I normally turn the rover into a flyer once I have metal grids (10 for 4 small D-thrusters, and 2 3x3x1 D thrusters), and only really drive on perfectly flat ground ... a quick flight gets me over any cliffs or rough patches. Beyond that, you are probably looking at a total redesign or just building a second rover.

Regarding the minimal armor at the battery: it exist, but it's not enough.

Regardign the rest: yes, you can improve the rover once you have set up shop. Obviously. What I'm talking about is when you freshly arrive in the game and have nothing at all. The battery, a component being irrepairable until you have set up a working base, being where it is now is unacceptable.

the Respawn Rover is a piece'o'junk
For sure!
The respawn rover design isn't good for much of anything, it's hard to extend in every conceivable way. The only good thing about it is that it's mobile. Must use caution, avoid rough terrain. Luckily most of the planet is quite smooth. Grind off that spare tire right away. The parachute isn't good for much after you land, so that gives you a spot for... not much will fit there, actually. There's not a great place for a connector, the antenna and detector are in the way of putting a solar on top. Its destiny is usually to sit beside you for an hour or two while you mine stone and make a little base.

I managed to get my rover into space. Just added a big H2 tank, large smallblock H2 thruster, and some small ions for maneuvering, a few atmo thrusters just to save fuel, and launched that sucker right into orbit.
But yeah, it's a junk design. Makes a terrible spacecraft, actually.