19-23 Ranger In-Console Phone Docking System [New Release]

[Capt Jon]

Nice idea for those who could use it. I prefer to use my wireless adapter and I can put my phone anywhere, even leave it in my pocket, if I choose to.

Sponsored

 

[Tom_C]

@DirkM already makes exactly what you're talking about.

I've seen it.

 

[DockTailors]

@DockTailors This is very slick. Looks like a very well thought out/designed product!

P.S. I also like your watch

This is a very nice, well made solution. Welcome to the community!

Very refined product. I don’t use CarPlay as often as I’d like because I end up not fidgeting with a 6” cable I have plugged in. A longer cable I have for charging ends up wrapped around everything . This would solve both problems…,

Thanks!! I've actually been a member on here since the beginning! And it was actually the Ranger's AA/CarPlay situation that bugged me so much I quit my day job and started DockTailors. Polling other AA/CarPlay vehicle owners, even those with built-in wireless chargers and wireless AA/CarPlay — many felt the same.

I spent the next 18 months developing a solution I liked and felt comfortable supporting for the rest of the community.

not terribly enamored with wireless charging in vehicle, tbh.

My wife's new car has a built-in wireless charging pad (that's fast charging capable) and it's the same. when connected via AA, the phone uses about as much juice as the wireless charger puts out. and it generates a lot of heat.

You hit the nail on the head for this particular solution! It is a matter of preference with pros/cons for each and totally up to you. But this solution is an alternative to those that have encountered some of the cons to wireless AA/CarPlay/Charging.

Nice. Because of how I use my phone I only use bluetooth and only plug it in when it's dead. It would be cool for v2 to have a wireless charger built into the minimalize version.

Thanks! But unfortunately no plans to offer wireless charging. It's a whole other can of worms to get something that works for all the different phones and climates reliably. I want to offer something I take pride in supporting with a warranty — without saying it may or may not work for you.

If you look at the OEM or higher end more reliable wireless chargers — they are massive hunks of $$$ metal, sometimes with fans, to minimize overheating. And as others have noted here, even these may not be the best sometimes. Plenty of products on the market if you do go this route however!

Obviously it would be difficult to create a simple solution in that space that suits everyone [...]I don’t want to deal with the lag of a CarPlay adapter and usually charge my phone overnight. I ordered a Dock Tailor to try out.

Thank you for voicing this! It is incredibly difficult to find something that works the best for millions of phones. But believe me, I am all ears and open to suggestions. The auto industry obviously went the wireless charger route. I'm looking to offer an alternative for folks.

I can't comment directly on other products, but wireless lag is also a use case I'm looking to offer a solution for. Thanks for the order!! I'll get it out today.

Nice idea for those who could use it. I prefer to use my wireless adapter and I can put my phone anywhere, even leave it in my pocket, if I choose to.

Totally understand! I'm hoping this brings a wired connection a bit closer in ease of use but nothing can beat wireless in terms of that!

 

[Apples]

Hummmm. Where do I put my breath mints, gate card, etc.?

 

[Tremorky]

Thanks!! I've actually been a member on here since the beginning! And it was actually the Ranger's AA/CarPlay situation that bugged me so much I quit my day job and started DockTailors. Polling other AA/CarPlay vehicle owners, even those with built-in wireless chargers and wireless AA/CarPlay — many felt the same.

I spent the next 18 months developing a solution I liked and felt comfortable supporting for the rest of the community.




Thank you for voicing this! It is incredibly difficult to find something that works the best for millions of phones. But believe me, I am all ears and open to suggestions. The auto industry obviously went the wireless charger route. I'm looking to offer an alternative for folks.

I can't comment directly on other products, but wireless lag is also a use case I'm looking to offer a solution for. Thanks for the order!! I'll get it out today.



Your welcome! I’ll be interested to follow any changes and updates.

 

[DockTailors]

I like this, but the problem is when using carplay and Waze, it splits the map and the turn by turn between the big screen and the phone, so you would be losing out on the route turn by turn listing, since the screen is out of sight. I also sometimes have the Waze screen on the big screen and the music player list of songs on the phone, so i can see what's coming up next, makes it easier to skip around than just hitting next song on the steering wheel controller. I'm probably just being too picky and set in my old man ways.

Oh wow I did not know the Waze splitting! Thanks for letting me know. I use all the default apps.. and to be honest I've been using/testing this dock for the past year. So nothing inherently missing from day to day stuff but definitely good to know in regards to R&Ding something more visible.

I've been using the MagSafe dock that DirkM from this forum makes in combination with a wireless CarPlay adapter for a year and a half now and I couldn't see myself switching to this. I use my phone for gauges while driving and with this I wouldn't be able to see it. I also don't like that if you need to pickup your phone it would need to be disconnected from the cable.

It's a cool product. I'd like it better if it parked the phone sideways so it wasn't sticking up. Or even angled it up so you get a sideways view of the screen.

I am doing R&D on something more visible and maintain the same docking action.. perhaps on the Ranger dash cubby.

It may not pan out though. I am trying to maintain the cable free/clean OEM effect — if not there's already plenty of choices on the market already

the issues I see though are if more then one person drives the ranger & has different phone it wont work & the fact a lot of people change phones yearly

Yeah but I saw the top plate with the holder is a separate piece. If he makes available that plate by itself it looks like it would be easily swappable.

I also thought of the issue with multiple drivers. Doesn’t really apply to me. My next phone will probably vary very little in size so a shim will hopefully cover that. If not I’ll have this phone for another 22 months either way. The price of another console plate will be double what I paid for Dbrand Grip case so it’s not terrible for the convenience.

Agreed this is a con. @MountainGoat this was an excellent suggestion!! I spent this morning modeling a minor change to the base to make this possible. Unfortunately it really changes the cover plate to base fitment and does not look good Seriously though, thank you for the idea!

On the bright side during my testing, as long as you're staying in the same phone model ranges — dock sizes can usually remain identical. As @Tremorky pointed out, the rails can compensate in the same range.

Base model iphones are still base model iPhone sized. Phablet phones like the Pixel Pros or Galaxy Ultras are all still phablet sized.

I'm hoping this helps but unfortunately it is inherent to precision docking

 

[Dr_Strangelove]

@DockTailors - YO I AM INTO THIS. I am 100% a buyer if you can confirm a Pixel 7/8 Pro will fit WITH a case. (A beefy one too, I've got a kid.)

I notice on your website the Pixel pro is case-less but the iPhone is cased in a similar case to mine.

THANK YOU and good luck.

 

[DockTailors]

Hummmm. Where do I put my breath mints, gate card, etc.?

I'm personally a minimalist and keep things out sight in the center console or the door cubbies — but that's just me You are giving up storage space to keep the phone off a dash mount

@DockTailors - YO I AM INTO THIS. I am 100% a buyer if you can confirm a Pixel 7/8 Pro will fit WITH a case. (A beefy one too, I've got a kid.)

I notice on your website the Pixel pro is case-less but the iPhone is cased in a similar case to mine.

THANK YOU and good luck.

Nice! The Pixel 6 Pro actually has the OEM Google case on it — similar to the OEM iPhones.

You'll need to lookup the dimensions of your case (or measure yourself). Or let me know what case it is and I can look it up We do have a fitment guide on our site too!

 

[Dr_Strangelove]

Awesome, thanks for the guide. I'm really hoping I can pull the trigger on this device because it is reminiscent of my Dyson vacuum dock the way the phone just drops in - I love that. This is exactly how I use my Android Auto and lower tray as well - I'm following your thinking.

I have a Pixel 7 Pro in a Mous case if you happen to already know the answer to that one then I appreciate the intel otherwise I'm more than happy to dust off my calipers and do some measuring later today

 

[DockTailors]

Awesome, thanks for the guide. I'm really hoping I can pull the trigger on this device because it is reminiscent of my Dyson vacuum dock the way the phone just drops in - I love that. This is exactly how I use my Android Auto and lower tray as well - I'm following your thinking.

I have a Pixel 7 Pro in a Mous case if you happen to already know the answer to that one then I appreciate the intel otherwise I'm more than happy to dust off my calipers and do some measuring later today

Love it!! Glad I'm not the only one with affinity for precision docking

The Mous Intralock & Limitless cases are listed as — D: 13.7mm, W: 82.9mm. A dock size of D: 9-17mm and W: 79-87mm would work best.

If you've got their mag-safe wallet I would bump up one size to give you some extra room — D: 11-19mm, W: 81-89mm.

Hope this is what you're looking for!

 

[Dr_Strangelove]

Donovan - definitely thank you very much. I decided to go with the larger size grouping as that gives me more options with mag wallet, etc. Now that I've had the time to read your instructions on your website I understand the system better - very cool. In hindsight I feel silly because I could have easily googled this too, lol. Since you were offering live feedback on the forum and I was so excited I took you up on it

That said - you'll be shipping one of these to Henderson, NV. I'm excited to try it out and I'll certainly post up some photos for you here on the forums for you to use if you'd like.

Cheers!

 

[DockTailors]

Donovan - definitely thank you very much. I decided to go with the larger size grouping as that gives me more options with mag wallet, etc. Now that I've had the time to read your instructions on your website I understand the system better - very cool. In hindsight I feel silly because I could have easily googled this too, lol. Since you were offering live feedback on the forum and I was so excited I took you up on it

That said - you'll be shipping one of these to Henderson, NV. I'm excited to try it out and I'll certainly post up some photos for you here on the forums for you to use if you'd like.

Cheers!

Got it and thank you! I'll start production this evening and have it out tomorrow. And no no I really do enjoy the feedback — it's the only way I can improve and see what you're looking for. The system is definitely a little more geared to car/truck people!

And yes absolutely! We'd definitely appreciate it. And honestly.. seeing a hopefully happy fellow Ranger owner is a reward in itself

 

[npspears]

Very nice product. I'm adding this to my Ranger wishlist.

 

[mtsoxfan]

My 2019 Lariat has a docking area in the center top of dash. Keep it docked there on top of a great looking bandana, which protects it. Never had any sliding issues. And someone on here turned me on to the instructions of how to run a power cord behind dash.
Now I can put important stuff in the console area...
pens, gold golf ball, a granola type bar from a year and a half ago....

 

[Tremorky]

My 2019 Lariat has a docking area in the center top of dash. Keep it docked there on top of a great looking bandana, which protects it. Never had any sliding issues. And someone on here turned me on to the instructions of how to run a power cord behind dash.
Now I can put important stuff in the console area...
pens, gold golf ball, a granola type bar from a year and a half ago....

I have the Tremor with the upfitter switches so I couldn’t go the same route as you.

Sponsored