PRODUCT NOTES
Our Phone Mounts Now Speak RAM, Quad Lock, and (Soon) Peak Design
And Pair Beautifully With MagSafe Cases
If you already own a phone mounting ecosystem in your van (RAM, Quad Lock, Peak Design), we'd rather make our hardware fit yours than force you to start over. No affiliations, no hidden licensing, just engineering choices that respect what you already have.
Most of our vehicle-specific phone mounts are now compatible with the RAM Mounts ball-and-socket system, work with the Quad Lock MAG charger via an adapter we engineered in-house, and, based on our own testing, pair surprisingly well with MagSafe-compatible cases from Peak Design and Quad Lock when used with our Qi2 wireless charger. Peak Design native compatibility is in development. Below is what each option includes, what it doesn't include, and the configuration that quietly saves customers the most money.
In this guide:
- Why We Built Cross-Compatibility
- Option 1: RAM-Compatible Sphere (No Charger)
- Option 2: Quad Lock MAG Adapter (No Charger)
- Peak Design Compatibility (In Development)
- The MagSafe + Qi2 Surprise (And How It Saves You Money)
- Which Configuration Should You Pick?
Three ways to mount, one base that fits your van
Vehicle-specific cup holder / ashtray inserts. No drilling, no adhesives, no rattling. Choose the head that matches what you already own: RAM ball, Quad Lock adapter, or our Qi2 charger that locks onto MagSafe-compatible cases like nothing else.
1. Why We Built Cross-Compatibility
We make vehicle-specific mounting hardware for vans. We are not in the business of competing with RAM Mounts, Quad Lock, or Peak Design. They are very good at what they do, and a lot of our customers already own pieces of their ecosystems. Forcing those customers to throw out perfectly good hardware to use ours never made sense to us.
So we did the unglamorous engineering work instead. We made our base inserts speak the same physical language as the most popular ecosystems on the market, without taking on any commercial relationship with them. To be unambiguous about it: Tactic Vans / Tactic Engineering has no affiliation, partnership, licensing agreement, or commercial relationship with RAM Mounts, Quad Lock, or Peak Design. Nothing of theirs ships in our box. We don't resell their products. We don't take a cut. Any mention of their products in this article is for compatibility purposes only. They remain trademarks of their respective owners.
What you do get is a vehicle-specific cup holder, ashtray, or factory-mount-location insert that fits your specific van, plus your choice of three head configurations. Here is how each one breaks down.
2. Option 1: RAM-Compatible Sphere (No Charger)
If you already own a RAM Mounts arm and cradle, or you want the freedom to build out a RAM ecosystem in your van, this is the configuration for you. The insert is the same vehicle-specific base we make for every Tactic Vans phone mount: it slots into the cup holder, ashtray, or factory mounting location of your specific vehicle without drilling, adhesives, or modification.
What's on the insert
A 25.4 mm (1 inch) sphere, the industry standard "Size B" RAM ball. Any RAM-compatible socket arm, double socket, short or long arm, X-Grip, Tough-Claw, or third-party clone built to the same dimension will clamp onto it directly. The sphere is permanently fixed to our insert; no swapping required.
What's in the box
The vehicle-specific insert with the 25.4 mm sphere. That is it. No RAM mount, no socket arm, no cradle, no charger. You bring the rest of the ecosystem yourself, or buy it from RAM directly or from any of the dozens of retailers that stock RAM hardware.
⚠ To be clear: RAM Mounts is a registered trademark of National Products Inc. We have no affiliation with them. The 25.4 mm ball is an industry-standard size used by many manufacturers; our use of it allows compatibility but does not imply any commercial relationship.
3. Option 2: Quad Lock MAG Adapter (No Charger)
If you already own the Quad Lock MAG wireless charger and you want to use it on a vehicle-specific Tactic Vans base instead of a windscreen mount or generic clamp, this is the configuration for you.
What we made
A small plastic adapter, designed and manufactured in-house at Tactic Engineering, that lets the Quad Lock MAG charger sit cleanly on our vehicle-specific insert. We engineered it from scratch to fit between our base and your existing Quad Lock MAG head, so the charger is held rigidly without flex or rattle on rough roads.
What's in the box
The vehicle-specific insert plus our Quad Lock-compatible plastic adapter. Nothing from Quad Lock is included: no charger, no cable, no case, no head. You supply your existing Quad Lock MAG charger and case yourself.
See it installed in 20 seconds
A quick walkthrough of how the adapter and Quad Lock MAG charger fit onto our vehicle-specific base:
⚠ To be clear: Quad Lock and MAG are registered trademarks of Annex Products Pty Ltd. We have no affiliation, partnership, or licensing agreement with Quad Lock. The adapter is our own design intended only to provide physical compatibility between our base and the Quad Lock MAG accessory the customer already owns. No Quad Lock branding or component is included with our product.
4. Peak Design Compatibility (In Development)
Peak Design's mounting system is one of the most elegant solutions on the market and it has a loyal following, particularly among photographers and travellers who already use Peak Design straps and bags. We've had enough requests from customers using Peak Design phone cases that we are currently developing a dedicated adapter, using the same logic as the Quad Lock one: a piece of hardware we make in-house that lets the Peak Design head sit on our vehicle-specific insert, with nothing from Peak Design included in our package.
It is not ready yet. We will update this article and notify our newsletter when it is. In the meantime, if you own a Peak Design case with MagSafe compatibility (most of their recent cases are), keep reading, because there is a configuration available right now that probably already does what you need.
5. The MagSafe + Qi2 Surprise (And How It Saves You Money)
This part wasn't planned. We were testing our Qi2 wireless charger module against a range of phone cases for hold strength and charging behaviour, and we kept noticing the same thing with MagSafe-compatible cases from both Peak Design and Quad Lock: the magnetic hold actually feels stronger than what you get on standard MagSafe-only setups. The phone clicks into place, sits firmly, charges cleanly, and stays put on washboard, cobblestones, and the kind of unsealed forest tracks where a weak mount would have your phone on the floor.
We are not entirely sure why. It is likely a combination of magnet strength, alignment geometry, and the fact that those cases were designed with a stronger ferrous plate than a typical MagSafe case. But the result is reliably good across every Peak Design and Quad Lock MagSafe-compatible case we've tested.
What this means in plain terms
If you already own a Peak Design MagSafe case or a Quad Lock MagSafe-compatible case, you do not need to buy their charger to use our mount. Skip the Quad Lock MAG charger. Skip the Peak Design wireless charger. Buy our phone mount with the Qi2 charger, slap your existing case on it, and you're done. The phone holds firmly, charges wirelessly, and you avoid the cost of a second charging head you don't actually need.
Concretely: a Quad Lock MAG charger head retails around CHF 60 to 80 depending on configuration. A Peak Design wireless charging mount sits in a similar price range. Our Qi2-equipped phone mount comes with the wireless charger built in, so for a single purchase you have the vehicle-specific base, the wireless charger, and a hold strength that matches or exceeds what you'd get going all-in on either ecosystem.
⚠ Heads up: Peak Design and MagSafe are registered trademarks of Peak Design Ltd. and Apple Inc. respectively. The behaviour described here is based on our internal testing with their MagSafe-compatible cases on our Qi2 charger; we have no commercial relationship with either company, and we make no claim of certification or endorsement by them. As always, your specific phone, case version, and mounting orientation may produce slightly different results. Check before you commit to a long drive.
6. Which Configuration Should You Pick?
You already own a RAM ecosystem. Pick Option 1 (RAM-compatible sphere). You're using hardware you already trust and you keep full freedom to swap arms, cradles, and accessories from any RAM-compatible vendor.
You already own a Quad Lock MAG charger and you want it in your van. Pick Option 2 (Quad Lock adapter). You re-use the Quad Lock charger you already paid for, and our adapter integrates it cleanly with the vehicle-specific base.
You own a MagSafe-compatible Peak Design or Quad Lock case but no charger. Pick our Qi2-equipped phone mount. You skip buying their charger entirely and get a stronger magnetic hold than standard MagSafe in the bargain.
You own a regular MagSafe iPhone or MagSafe case. Pick our Qi2-equipped phone mount. Standard MagSafe works, you charge wirelessly, no adapter or accessory ecosystem required.
You're starting from zero. Pick our Qi2-equipped phone mount. It's the simplest, most integrated option, and if you ever decide to add a MagSafe-compatible case from Peak Design or Quad Lock down the line, the hold only gets stronger.
Shop the Phone Mounts
- Phone Mount with RAM-Compatible 25.4 mm Sphere. Vehicle-specific insert, no RAM mount, no charger included. View configurations
- Phone Mount with Quad Lock MAG Adapter. Vehicle-specific insert plus our in-house adapter, no Quad Lock charger included. View configurations
- Phone Mount with Qi2 Wireless Charger. Vehicle-specific insert plus integrated Qi2 charger, works with MagSafe and MagSafe-compatible cases (including Peak Design and Quad Lock cases). View configurations
- 30W USB-C Car Charger. Fast-charges any of the above wirelessly via USB-C. View charger
→ Browse all phone mounts by vehicle
Trademark notice: RAM Mounts is a registered trademark of National Products Inc. Quad Lock and MAG are registered trademarks of Annex Products Pty Ltd. Peak Design is a registered trademark of Peak Design Ltd. MagSafe is a registered trademark of Apple Inc. Qi2 is a certification mark of the Wireless Power Consortium. Tactic Vans and Tactic Engineering have no commercial relationship, partnership, licensing agreement, or affiliation with any of the companies named above. Any reference to their products in this article is solely for the purpose of describing physical compatibility between our hardware and accessories the customer already owns. All compatibility claims are based on our own internal testing; your specific results may vary depending on phone model, case version, and installation. This article is for informational purposes only.
