Peart130

Hello!

I've been trying to order a long travel kit for my truck, apparently Blazeland in CA has stopped making the kits and a company in UT, TNA performance, has taken over the fabrication.

Has anyone worked with TNA before? I ordered a kit off their website and can't get ahold of them, no return emails and the phone number is not working. I want to support the business in these trying times, has anyone have experience with these guys, or know how to contact them?

Andrew Parker

I just put an order in with TNA on Monday 05Oct2020. I had been trying to do this with PreRunner Industries but they are in New Zealand and after 11 weeks they are refunding my deposit. TNA shows that the DIY and fabricated arms are in stock. I hope this pans out as my patience is getting rather thin.

Peart130

.......road trip?

Numbchux

I've seen him posting a lot on Facebook ("Toyota IFS and Long Travel Tech" group). My understanding is he did a group buy when they first got the contract, if you will, to make the Blazeland kits, but the last 6 months have not been any kinder to them than the rest of us. Supplier issues and a nasty storm that did some serious damage to the shop, mostly. It sounds like they're more than a bit behind on that order, but catching up, and fairly transparent on it. I haven't been watching super closely, but I certainly have seen a lot of posts of people installing their new kit.

Peart130

I'm not a big fan of facebook, but I'm happy to see he's still going! I was concerned about spending $1600 and not being able to contact the seller. Hopefully I can get my kit before it snows

Andrew Parker

Hey, I appreciate the lead on the facebook group title and am not a fan either but!... We are kind of fortunate that TNA is honing some of its craft on the first and 2nd gen IFS trucks. Nate from Blazeland is literally a stone's throw away from where I live and I was amiss to realize the market for his kits design and manufacture is getting harder to make any profit on. If this doesn't work out with TNA I'll have to take the plunge and do it myself and figure out how Nate did what he did with the lowers and perhaps cut and lengthen the upper A-Arms to provide more clearance for standing a shock up in a more vertical position. If only I could justify a plasma cutter and an X/Y CNC table I could do this with ease.

Numbchux

Like it or not, forums are dying fast. The information and innovation is happening in Facebook groups these days. The cool thing is there are so many groups, there are groups for specific things (like Toyota long travel tech and 1UZ Toyota trucks and 4Runners).

Andrew Parker

I think you are quite right about the Facebook groups, Numbchux. For a time Forums have seemed all the rage and I have spent countless hours scanning YotaTech for tidbits of information about 2nd Gens which has been huge and very useful.
Just how the information is cata logged in a facebook group will likely make finding things difficult as time passes.
I have now added my third group to my profile in Facebook and Alex from TNA is taking a stab at developing trailing arms.
Will the fun ever end? I certainly hope not!...

Numbchux

Yep, Facebook is far from ideal, posts come and go fast, so they're only relevant for a short time and are hard to search for. Forums are definitely a better medium, and I try to do my part to keep them alive....but it's all moot. Even craigslist is taking a huge hit to Marketplace, even though it's a much worse platform.

Peart130

Andrew nice post on FB! Showcasing a beautiful example of why I love this forum!

Trevor Dong

Hey did you ever receive your Blazeland kit? Im really wanting to order from TNA but I can't seem to get a message back from them even through facebook.

Peart130

Still waiting, its been at least two months, but as far as I know he is still working on kits. Still VERY difficult to get a hold of.....even on FB

Andrew Parker

Trevor,
Alex is the owner for his Company that is TNA. His partner Tyler is wheel chair bound and covid has been a problem for there ability to produce product. Through a Facebook Group (FBG): Toyota IFS and Long Travel Tech is his primary means for communication. So scan through that group if your serious about getting a Blazeland kit. But you will need to be patient and willing to work with Alex. As this is not a company like Total Chaos. You will see my postings there. I was one of the last customers to place my order on his TNA web page before he closed it for new orders. As you will see the order section is not available at the moment because he is over inundated with orders. I am expecting my Blazeland kit to be shipped sometime this comming week. But my order was made with TNA back in October after PreRunner Industries canceled my order that I had placed back in July with them. So my story is many months of waiting and my prayer is that Alex will be able to ship my kit this comming week as he as indicated in the FBG.

Trevor Dong

Hey Andrew,

Thanks for the info, their site says lead time is one week for the blaze land kit, which obviously is pretty misleading, I'll check out that Facebook group you mentioned.

Andrew Parker

Trevor,
Glad I could shed some light on this. I am fairly sure that in 2019 TNA may have opened up the site for the Blazeland LA travel kits with the attractive lead time and as 2020 turned into what it has become Alex and Tyler got caught out short handed in both materials and welding talent as Alex pretty much welds these kits by himself from what I have been able to gleen from the FBG. It takes a skilled hand to make these modifications to the lower arm and the adapter for the upper arm and Alex in so many words is keen on keeping the integrity of this Blazeland solution to be a top notch one for the long term. Join the group as Alex is one of the admins. Some really good information does flow on it from time to time!

Trevor Dong

Hey!

Any updates here? Did you guys ever get your kits? Shortly after responding here, Alex messaged me back on Instagram and told me I could get in on this run of kits and I sent him the deposit directly to "speed up the process" per his instructions (not going through the website to pay him). I haven't heard anything from him since the deposit was processed. Andrew, I noticed he commented on one of your posts in the Facebook Group a few weeks back. Have you received the kit yet? Also that driveline parking brake you pieced together looks great!

Andrew Parker

Trevor,
I was hoping Alex would get me mine for my B-day which was Nov 15th, didn't happen! Had a trip planned for last week of Dec after Christmas didn't happen for that either!... So I replaced CV boots and reinstalled DS shaft for the trip. He is not responding to my Instant Messenger inquires. So I'll just have to be patient. Its crazy having to wait like this as all the other mods are happening and the front end is looking like it really needs some love suspension wise! I have a set of Pro Comp coils arriving for the rear end this week end. They are advertised as 4" lift and discovered they are 140 lb/in rate which sold the idea to me as they are a lot softer than everything else that is aftermarket. Looking to keep the softness but get a lot more ride height so I have some travel to work with the longer arms when I get them!... Scored on a sweet double shear idler made by a chap up in Canada. Austin Sytsma is his name and he is on the FBG for IFS long travel. Less money and better than the TC unit. Hey if Alex contacts you, put in a word for me will ya! Squeaky wheel gets the oil right?
Cheerio mate,
Andrew

Trevor Dong

Hey Andrew did you ever receive tracking info on your kit? I saw in a post on the facebook group that yours was being boxed up and ready to ship, I was told mine would ship sometime this week. I was just curious if your kit had actually eft their facility and in the hands of a shipping company. Thanks in advance.

Andrew Parker

Hey Trevor,
The irony is the minute I claimed a dispute with my PayPal Credit that blurb on the FBG shows up about my A-arms as being ready to ship and Cali sends me a messenger note that they are getting it ready for shipping and ask if I would accept a set that are powder coated grey instead of painted with the steely weldable stainless steel paint they are now using exclusively for the kits. So I reply sure, as I would be glad to get anything at this point. Then I contact PayPal Credit which is Synchrony Bank and ask them to reinstate the amount and remove the dispute which takes 3-5 days to clear. Well in the interim Cali replies and asks the same as there account through PayPal is locked until this dispute is resolved and they cannot pay or receive payments. So this obviously got their attention as Cali asked for my shipping address and I am expecting my monetary dispute to be removed tomorrow or Friday with any luck? I have let TNA know that so they can get on with shipping it. Then Cali responds and apologizes for not being able to ship it on Monday as they thought they were completely done but they need just one more thing done but she was not at liberty to disclose exactly what that was. In the process of all this going on it turns out Alex has re injured his thumb and it is apparently infected and pretty bad in that he has lost a chunk of his thumb print. So at least I can get a feel for progress through Cali as she is responsive and polite. I am fairly confident that as my $1,600 shows up in my credit statement that they should be shipping it early next week. If that is not the case I will be rather upset and suspect that I may not be able to dispute this amount again if they renege on shipping the product to me again!... But I feel for them as I do believe that they have dug them selves a rather large crater and are struggling to climb out of it. I also believe Alex's heart is in his business and is really trying to break into a level that is just out of his grasp at the moment. These days for TNA I hope are a part of what will be remembered as the humble beginnings.
Cheers,
Andrew

Trevor Dong

Nice, hopefully it all works out with PayPal, I got the same story about his thumb and that they are barely taking breaks and only sleeping like 2-4 hours a night to get things out to people, I wasn't sure if that was all talk or if people are actually receiving tracking numbers for their kits being sent out. I wonder what that "one more thing" was that wasn't disclosed to you.....