BLUF
Thayer's a Ford Ranger driver in Colorado who runs an iKamper for camping trips and pulls it off for daily commutes — fuel mileage matters when you live with the truck Monday through Friday. He'd taken the tent on and off about 30 times the old way. Bent screws. Stripped bolts. Time he wasn't getting back. Here's what he said after running the quick-release mount.
A note on the customer quotes below. Thayer recorded these quotes in 2024 when the company was still operating as Vanultra (now Stark Side Gear). His verbatim words are preserved exactly as recorded. Editing customer testimony to fit current brand-voice standards would be putting words in his mouth.
The math behind why he takes the tent off
Thayer drives the Ranger every day — work, kids, errands. Tent on the roof during the week is fuel-economy money he's leaving on the road. Tent off all week, on for the weekend, off for Monday morning.
In his words:
"We like to take the iKamper on and off for each camping trip. It helps with fuel mileage."
That's the use case the quick-release mount was built for.
What 30 removals on the iKamper 2.0 mounts taught him
Three years on the original iKamper 2.0 mounts. About 30 times he pulled the tent. Bent screws. Stripped bolts. The tent got off the truck eventually — but the hardware kept paying for it.
He needed the install to stop fighting him. That was the trigger.
What he said after the quick-release install
"I love how robust the Vanultra mounts are. It's going to speed up the process and give me more confidence in the hardware."
Two things in one sentence — speed and confidence. Both were the things missing from the iKamper 2.0 setup.
The rubber pads vs. metal-edge brackets
His old setup had metal-edge brackets that scuffed his crossbars. The quick-release mount uses rubber-pad contact instead. Thayer's read on it after a known failure:
"We've had it come loose while four-wheel driving, so I'm really excited to see how secure the rubber pads hold the tent in place."
That's not us telling you the rubber pad matters. That's a customer who's lost his hold on rough terrain telling us the rubber pad matters.
What his current setup looks like
Quick-release mounts plus a hoist in his garage. Tent on, tent off, in minutes — not hours. Whether he's commuting to work, hauling kids, or running into the mountains for the weekend.
If your Ranger or similar daily driver runs an iKamper and you're tired of bending screws, the same mount is the Slipstream.