Our Story
Conceived Of A Need
Forged In the Forests
On the Beaches
And In the Desert
The Hard Impact Designs Rooftop Tent Quick Release Mounts were truly a solution born to solve a real-world problem.
The inventor and founder of the company, Michael T. Davis, is an avid hiker, camper, explorer and chronicler of adventure…an overlander. Like many people he enjoyed using his rooftop tent but his truck was used as his daily driver and her preferred to keep it protected in the garage overnight. Leaving the tent bolted to the roof rack was not an option.
Anyone who was bolted a rooftop tent to a roof rack knows the process can be painful and time-consuming. After the third time bolting the tent to the rack and coming away SIX HOURS later with bruised and scraped arms it got to the point that securing the rooftop tent to the rack was a burden. He did not want to use the rooftop tent anymore!
Adventurers are going to adventure and not all environments are a good fit for a ground tent or hammock tent. When you are camped out on the beach the rooftop tent offers the best sleeping solution. Michael found himself in the position—a planned trip to Cape Lookout, Outer Banks, North Carolina with a good friend. A beach trip was on the horizon and the rooftop tent was getting the call-up. But those damn bolts!
“There must be a quick release mount to solve this problem” he thought. But there WAS no solution that was compatible with his roof rack. So in the true spirit of the overlander, applying ingenuity and inspiration Michael set out to design a solution that would work for himself. He printed some graph paper from an online template, grabbed his junior high protractor and compass, a ruler and a pencil. After a few attempts at a design he settled on the original design, gave his drawings to a local welder and asked “Can you fabricate this for me?!”
Within 3 weeks the quick release mounts were conceived, designed and born! The day before he was supposed to leave for Cape Lookout the brackets were complete! It took a couple of hours to get them installed and dialed in because the brackets were perfectly measured to the millimeter. Even with some major adjustments one lock-ball pin would not engage and join the upper and lower brackets. It was time to leave so Michael made that adventure with only three lock-ball pins in place! After a week Michael returned home, pulled out the three pins and his tent was ready to come down. A week later he made a cross-country drive from Georgia to New Mexico.
He drove normal highway speeds and attacked off road trails like a hellion. After driving 21 hours straight to get back home Michael pulled into the driveway, pulled the lock-ball pins and almost started crying! The quick release mounts had been tested through every driveable scenario imaginable and passed with flying colors!
It was then that Michael realized that other rooftop tent users would appreciate and benefit from these quick release. Hard Impact Designs was born and we’ve never looked back!