1st Gen Tundra TRD Pro Grilles- Clearing Up Confusion

Hey yall! I posted this in a reply to the "1st Gen Grille Options" thread as well, but wanted to make it easier to find as well.

Hunter from TEQ Customs here. I came across this thread after a member of a facebook group was spreading false information about source of the 1st Gen TRD Pro grilles and my company. I wanted to set the record straight and show that we absolutely designed the grilles and have not been lying to anyone.

First off, this was our first major undertaking with product design. We have produced hand built grilles for other vehicles for a while and sold TRD Style grilles for other vehicles, which is what ultimately inspired the idea and project. There were not very many grille options out there prior, so it was an obvious hole in the market. We also moved to a much larger shop (Hit us up if you're in Raleigh, NC!) during this time, which further delayed working on this project.

We had started designing these back in January. This is a screenshot of the first scan of a grille we took, which we used to design the prototypes and eventually, the final product.

At the end of February, we started looking for producers for our design. A picture of the finished CAD design is here.



We ultimately did decide to ship it overseas due to the ability to produce each unit at a lower cost. We estimated that stateside production would have to lead to a price of around 400 dollars per unit to obtain the return that we needed for our work. I've attached one of the first emails that we sent out to a company to get a quote on production.


While we obviously knew there would be risk involved sending it overseas with the lack of enforceable intellectual property laws, we didn't feel the sales at a 400+ dollar price point would give us the return needed. We also assumed that anyone who wanted to replicate it could just as easily buy one, copy it, and undercut us quickly.

Ultimately, it is what it is. It was obviously sold out the back door and as a small business, we simply don't have the money to even attempt to fight it, not that we would have a good chance of anything coming from it anyways.

It's a free country and people have the right to buy things from where they wish. I'm glad most of y'all have gotten your grille in good condition, even if it was stolen. We wanted to provide more options for parts for these vehicles to the community, and we succeeded in doing that.

We will have these grilles in stock soon. i hope you'll support us and future innovation in parts for these trucks and that any confusion created prior is cleared up. This is a great community and we appreciate the opportunity to be a part of it.

 

You said it.

 

Will this grill fit a 2003 tundra.

 

Got mine from the TEQ pre order. Love it

 

Perhaps I missed it in the other Grill thread but did you choose the TEQ designed one or another designed brand ?
Also, did you add Led's and if so, how's the quality ?
Since my 04 should be close to your 06, is the fit pretty close to our Orig fit grill ?

 

Looky looky here, Better price that includes 3 lights and will get to ya in appx 7 days. See First Gen Grill Options thread in this forum for the low down where all but one don't lie.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Auto-Parts-New-Design-ABS-Black_1600484464531.html

 

I went will all the add ones from TEQ. Haven’t wired up the lights yet. Quality is good, you can’t compare the OEM to the aftermarket, there is a huge weight difference. Fitment was good, not great, my truck is salvage so it might not be super square and that’s on me. Going to mess with it today for better Fitment on the corners.

But I am very happy with it, I would buy it again, and highly recommend if you want that look.

I would also order two hood rod/latch clips because they will fail when you start moving stuff. Cause a trip to autozone for me. Bought some universal clips but prefer OEM for fit.

 

Thanks Jerry....yeah I've been on the fence ever since folks here way back when were doing DIY grille mods. While there are numerous aftermarket grilles now for our 1st Gen, I'll definitely add TEQ to my short list of mfgs. My biggest decision is how much if any of the grill do I want color matched. Have seen the outer 3 to 4 " painted white, simply tying to visualize what 3Q3 will look like just on the outer edge. I'm not in a hurry and will await hearing what @teqcustoms means by "We will have these grilles in stock soon". I'm only ~500 miles from Carolinas and if "in stock" means sitting his Carolina shop, that should be less shipment cost for me.

 

Looks great

 

Painted mine ,still gotta hook up the lights

 

i really want to order one of these... but damnit my MR2 is taking all my money right now

 

Let's see that bad boy

 

@teqcustoms, out of curiosity, what would you have done different knowing what you know now? I don't have a 1st gen, this is just an interest.

Stateside couldn't produce the margins you wanted at the selling price you figured, so you rolled the dice and RFQd it with offshore mfg. There isn't IP to obtain on this, plus, let's be real, it costs a lot. If there was, and since this was your first go at product design, I'm guessing a lack of experience with prior art searching, invention disclosures, provisional drafts, and finally domestic/international filing wouldn't have cut back on a firm's cost anyway. But now the grilles show up on Alibaba and this internet drama ensues.

Would you have avoided going through with production? Would you have rather stayed stateside with lower margin? Would you have delayed launch 18+mo to attempt protection in China?

One positive if you had obtained exclusivity, the use of the Toyota logo like that could've gotten you a cease and desist... But now with knock-offs it may be a lawsuit not worth pursuing for them.

 

Not trying to be a cynical ass here, but I got a chuckle out of "protection in China".

Even if you manage to get some kind of protection from CNIPA, your stuff still gets jacked. As long as you're a Chinese citizen helping prop up manufacturing for the State, a blind eye will be turned. Even if a foreign patent holder manages to clear all the red tape to make it to court, I've heard they make it excruciatingly painful for you to finish in any timely fashion, and by then, your new product is old, you've lost the majority of your potential margins, and are back to square one. The whole system is rigged.

 

There, I fixed it. Ha

 

They shifty as fk

 

Y’all. @teqcustoms screwed me over. Ordered a grill from him and he messaged saying he was having difficulties sending to my address (it’s a new build in Phoenix, AZ). He then emails back and says “It worked with Glendale”. Retard just shipped the grill to a different city than my actual address. It now is marked as “arrived” on UPS tracking, but I haven’t received it. Hunter won’t provide a refund until he talks to UPS and figures out where it was delivered. Stay away from these crooks. Who just changes someone’s address and expects it to arrive at the correct location??

 

new addresses are a PITA. It took me several weeks and hours of phone calls to ATT to get my cable and internet installed at the new house like 7 years ago. They kept saying the address didn't exist.

 

I get it. But I’ve received multiple shipments from Amazon, Costco, Toytec, and various furniture stores since we moved in with no problem. Just don’t get how someone could change an address’s city and expect shipment to go to the correct location.

 

Love the use of the bolded word. Image not for you.

 

It's sad that your were burned by the OP who started this thread to clear the air of his business, and his being called out as a liar. Truth always comes out and he's not looking to being someone people with hard earned cash should do business with. Doing business with TEQ? Not this cat, too many negatives heard that says he'll burn ya. Friend said his TEQ grill fitment was sloppy and if I wanted it, Lol. Yeah right, I have no use for a grill that doesn't fit right. On the other hand, I've made many purchase transactions with the Chinese and have yet to be burned or dissatisfied doing business with them. I always give credit where it's deserved and not because I might like some company.

For what it's worth, I don't think anyone in America will be buying from anyone with Chinese made products in the future. That's if they go ahead with taking Taiwan. Get what you want now before that happens cause we might be at war with China due to defending Taiwan. Taiwan is home to more than 90% of the manufacturing capacity for the world's most advanced semiconductors, and America will do whats necessary to be their friend by keeping Taiwan a free country.

Hope you get your part or refund from TEQ. To bad one has to make noise about being wronged before the company will do anything.

 

UPDATE:

@teqcustoms refuses to issue a refund last week after the grill ends up at the wrong address (no surprise, that’s what happens when you input the wrong city ).

Today, I asked for an update. See response:


The retard asks me to commit fraud by filing an insurance claim indicating that the package was lost.

Crooks indeed.

 

UPDATE:

So Hunter Shill has now turned the tables and wonders “who is really trying to scam who here” by my refusal to fill out a fraudulent insurance claim. We’ll see if he ever refunds me for the grill I never received. I’m appalled by this whole situation. Stay away from these shills and don’t support them. I’m done.

 

I think filling out a "didn't arrive" claim is legitimate, even if it happened due to clerical error.

At this point, it seems like you're both to blame. You're choosing to fight at every turn. Hunter is trying to deal with the fact it got sent to the wrong place, regardless the means by which it landed at the wrong address which isn't the kiss-the-customer's-ass way to deal with it, but how some small businesses can resolve issues.

Who's the bad guy here? It seems like both of you are in the wrong, and you're both too stubborn to reach an agreement on how it should be handled. It's really unfortunate. And here you are, dragging names in the mud, potentially making yourself look worse. Good job.