Valhalla’s Shield theft deterrent/skid plates info and ordering post

Just curious……what’s with the supposed delay for these cats shields? There is no metal sheet shortage here in houston, lots of suppliers have plenty of stock and they even offer to laser cut pieces for you?

 

One man operation and high demand. At least that's what I understand it to be.

 

Getting materials isn’t such an issue anymore, I order in batches instead of making one or 2 here and there. So there is a delay between the order and when it is completed. Then powder coat and or welding if needed and then I have to ship it. This whole process up to shipping can take 1-2 months and I hadn’t been ordering extra for the last few orders. I did order extra this time. As to the wait time for the 2022 plates. Design and figuring out how to make it we thought we had figured out when I released it, but it ended up being revision after revision. I am powering out the 2022 plates now that I have them.

The big problem is shipping them, I don’t just throw these in a box and send it on the way. Each is packed up and it is time consuming to do. I have a garage full of plates I need to ship, but I can’t ship 100 a day

 

Thanks, @Classy63 -- I received my shipping notice last night. Fed-ex says Friday EOD, but I know it will depend on when they pick up from you [and whether they route it through FL and CA while going from Houston to Austin].

For reference for others waiting... mine is a 2022 cat plate (not hybrid), welded steel + powder coat. I probably have the longest outstanding order (?), but I realize much of the delay was due to the 2022 redesign.
https://valhallasshields.com/shop/ols/products/2022-tundra-steel-cat-plate

Now, I'm looking for those '22 install instructions.... (if the difference matters much)....
From Tyler's website... https://valhallasshields.com/installation-guide
For the earlier years, I also see... https://www.tundras.com/threads/valhallas-catalytic-converter-shield-installation.90578/

 

There isn’t a prepared install guide yet, but essentially it is the same, there are 2 holes in the cross member that go all the way through, if you are 4x4, it is very tight on the driver’s side with the transfer case.

The rear bolts line the holes up for you once you have the front of the plate slotted in.

IF you have a TRD skid plate, ignore the first part and you will need to use a jack to lift the plate into place and bolt up the rear of the plate loosely and then bolt the front with the TRD plate together

 

You sure about that? Not the thieves stealing the cats or the businesses taking 3-4 months to deliver your product and holding your money?

All cat shields look identical because the bolts line up in exact same spot for the vehicle. Did they all end up with same exact design by accident or by reality of situation? Get real dude, if apple takes 3-4 months to deliver an iPhone someone else will make a similar phone and sell it quicker. Get off your ass or others will.

 

If it's so easy why don't you do it.

 

Precisely, i got tired of waiting so i decided to go do it myself.

 

Shipping this week actually means 1-1.5 months. Shipping next week means 2 months minimum. Welcome to clown world and tundras.com where this type of vendor communication is acceptable.

 

Yes I'm sure..
I waited 8 months to get replacement cats.
It never entered my mind to copy someone else's cat shield design.
I didn't want the crappy short shield Toyota offered, so I bought mine from @Classy63

If your welding/fabrication shop is so awesome, they shouldn't need to copy someone else's work.
If they had a decent sense of business, they wouldn't copy someone else's work.
They should take their own measurements and make their own shields from scratch..

This applies to all manufactures of anything, not just Vahalla's products.

You're not gonna win this one Ace..

 

Does anyone else get the feeling Tyler’s competitors are coming here and turning this thread into a **** show on purpose to harm his business?

 

At the request of site management, I am closing orders effective tomorrow. I have full intent to reopen the site mid November.

 

Hang in there @Classy63. It'll get better. My dad ran a small business for 20+ years, so I understand the headaches of trying to keep one afloat. If you ever want to talk some possible strategies for streamlining your process, let me know. I've worked for a large company where my one of my jobs revolved around process efficiency improvement.

 

Positives: the plates are well made, were packed really well, and once shipped arrived in 2 days. I like how narrow the rear of the front engine skid is when it gets to the crossmember under the engine oil pan. This makes it SO MUCH EASIER to get my arms in above the crossmember to torque down the bolts that fasten the engine skid and the front cat skid to the crossmember. With the RCI and Desert Eagle plates that these are replacing, I had to loosen all other fasteners on the plates to let the plates droop as much as possible and still tore my arms up getting a ratcheting box-end wrench up over that crossmember. I drop my plates twice a year for cleaning and applying HD Metal Protector. With the RCI and DE plates, this is a semiannual torture session I was eager to be rid of.

Negatives: I waited a bit longer than anticipated. I checked in and received a response email at week 17 that “they’re shipping this week”. I waited two weeks and emailed back asking if there was a tracking number that he forgot to send me. Didn’t hear anything back until I mentioned it in this thread. Seemed odd since the order receipt says to email with questions or concerns. I then got a shipping notification, and plates arrived 21 weeks after ordering, almost to the day. If stated times are adhered to and communcation is figured out, I wouldn’t hesitate to order again. I do not think at all that he’s trying to screw people over or get away with not fulfilling orders. Just a one-man shop with accelerated growing pains due to high demand.

Halting orders until catching up makes me far more likely to recommend Valhalla’s Shield than if he had just continued to let them get backed up. That is a good-faith move to me.

I’m not out to pile on Tyler. I like the product, and he does good work. I hope this comes across as I intend—as dispassionately fair as possible.

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For those needing a more immediate solution, going local or DIY might be worth looking into. I disagree that it is stealing someone else’s IP (unless you copy their company symbol as well); all cat plates look pretty much the same. This is dictated by their function. It’s literally a sheet of metal cut into a trapezoid with vertical wings on the sides and holes drilled in particular spots for airflow and for fastening to the frame crossmembers.

 

To his credit, I reached out to Tyler via email yesterday to cancel my order and get my money back and it was almost immediate, which was much appreciated. Thats on the table for people who are upset..
I had an order in for a rear guard (I have an RCI front & Desert Eagle mid currently) but got disheartened reading some of the wait times on here, I had only been in about a month and a half or so but have a trip coming up out of state in early Dec and want to get the rears secured from the tweakers so will be welding a few block plates on my DE guard to keep the sawzalls out instead at this point.
Running a small buis (or side buis) is stressful, especially when youre han soloing it, and theres guaranteed to be growing pains. A takeaway from a fellow buis owner: underpromise/overdeliver> overpromise/underdeliver.

 

What size bolts are needed for the skid plate oil filter access cover?

I finally got my full set of plates bolted up last night, but am missing the oil filter access cover bolts (x3). Anyone know what size I need?

 

I think what likely happened is you use the bolts for the oil filter plate on the plastic tabs. Either way, 5/16x.75

 

Thanks. I will get some. I didn't have any small bolts included, so didn't have any for the plastic tabs either, they are hanging loose right now. Will pick up extras for the tabs.

 

Did you order cat shields for the Tesla???

 

They are “virtual” cat plates. Zero weight and completely transparent.

 

No delay on shipping then....

...sorry too soon!!!!

 

I was going to include that but thought it was too soon.

 

Please note, the moderator asked all of us to stop the back and forth. I choose to honor that. You do you.

 

Skid plates are different than cat shields... skid plates on a. Tesla is to help keep that shit from scraping when you roll through the ghetto.

 

Seems like it would need a flood barrier to keep the battery safe, especially from water

 

Theres at least one owner who sent the absolute crap out of theirs though..