DynoProducts/DynoLock tailgate actuators: My Experience & Demise of Companies? AVOID!

Wanted to give a review of my experience with tailgate lock actuators from Dyno Products (dynoproducts.net) and/or their partner? company DynoLock (dynolock.com).

Short Story: AVOID THIS COMPANY/PRODUCT LIKE THE PLAGUE.



But also probably don't worry about it because both companies look to have disappeared. Skip to this post for a conclusion.

And now onto my mini-novel on why you should buy any other option than this one.

 

Why I Purchased and Initial Experience

I purchased my Tacoma in July of 2020 and quickly added a camper shell. At that point I realized it still wasn't truly secure to store things in the bed without being able to lock the tailgate. So I sat down, hooked TacomaWorld into my veins, and started searching to see what other people have done.

Lo and behold there was a very helpful thread (which you can find here) discussing some different options: Pop and Lock, Pace Edwards, and DynoLocks. Pop and Lock was getting poo-poo'ed and the Pace Edwards requires overcomplicated installation that I didn't really like. Nobody said anything but good stuff about the DynoLocks and they did cost more...maybe they are the superior option? Another review (link here) also said the same. Hmm.

I placed my order August 17, 2020 and immediately realized I screwed up and ordered the Tundra model. Immediately called the number on their website (by the way, website looks like it was created in 1995 Geocities HTML - but maybe that's good?). Spoke with a nice gentleman named Ed who is the owner and he asked me to send my details via SMS because he was driving and couldn't write it down. 6 days later I got the right Tacoma version and all is right with the world. Actuator came with the wiring harness, hardware, and instructions.



I ordered the "High Security Actuator". Part number on DynoProducts website was TAC09CWC HSA and says it works for 2009 & up. Interestingly the actuator that I received was labeled as TAC09CHSA. Label looks a little worn but could just be cheap labels (I use some like this at work, it happens). OK then, moving on.



Paper instructions say this is for 2008-2016 model Tacomas. Hmm. Also says the wires shouldn't have bullet connectors already crimped on but they definitely are crimped. Will have to chop those off & resolder so they fit through the drain hole. More evidence of a returned item?

Bottom of the instructions page gives a different company name and web address (dynolock.com) and the contact email is for another guy named Jim. Hmm...



I was leaving in about a week to drive 2,500 miles roundtrip from Wisconsin to New Mexico. Removed tailgate panel and tried to install the actuator but couldn't get it to fit. Seems like it's wrong but maybe I'm just a dumb noob? Had to put this on the shelf, not enough time to play around with it. Didn't get back around to another attempt until spring 2021 due to lots of factors.

 

My Procrastination and Initial Pleasant Vendor Response

Fast forward from August 2020 to my next attempt at reaching the vendor in April 2021. I have no good excuses why I waited this long but factors include COVID-19, work, home stuff, Wisconsin winters being cold, etc etc. I want to be completely clear that is not the vendors fault.

That being said the actuator is advertised as being USA made and carries a lifetime warranty. Cool, I should be covered. Right?



Customer Service & Attempts At Remediation

Here is where things get interesting:

• Ed is the owner of dynoproducts.net and is just the reseller.
• Jim is the owner of dynolock.com and is the manufactuer.
• Jim sells to Ed, you buy from Ed.
• If problems arise you have to call Jim.

Full history of my contact attempts hidden in the spoiler - skip over this if you don't care about the tiny details.

Spoiler: Boring list of calls/emails/contact attempts

04/30/21: Called Ed and left message at 1:07pm asking how we can fix this.

05/03/21: No response, called Ed again. Was told he is just the reseller and to call Jim, he is the manufacturer. Hung up and called Jim, had a brief conversation because he was driving. Gave me a new tip for install and told me to call back later if I can't figure it out.

05/10/21: Called Jim back as I can't get it to fit. Was told to email photos and he will make a replacement that hopefully should fit. He would mail it out that same day. Took some persuading but I'm pleased he now understands the original has a defect and is being responsive.

05/20/21: Received replacement lock and just now had time to try another install. This one at least fits & mounts up to the tailgate handle. However there is a new problem - the way it is designed, it can get bent out of position and cause your tailgate handle to get stuck open. I called Jim, he says to bend the entire assembly to make it work. I said I don't want to bend it and void any warranty. He says just bend it and they will cover it. Still couldn't get it working. Frankly it's just a bad design at least for my 2015 handle. Jim stops answering my calls.

05/21/21: Call Ed and leave a message asking if we can just do a refund at this point, or if I need to keep harrasing Jim for new products and play the trial-and-error game. Also sent him an SMS message as he requested that method in the past. Quick response saying he will discuss with Jim. Also asked if instead of refund I could exchange for Pop N Lock

$105 PL8521 Pop & Lock – Power Tailgate Lock for Toyota Tacoma, Fits Models 2005 to 2015 (PL8521)

PL8521 that is also advertised for sale on dynoproducts.net website and told he hasn't sold those for years and doesn't have any...

05/25/21: Call/SMS to Ed but not getting a response.

Would try several more calls and SMS messages to Ed and never got a reply again. Jim has already stopped answering my calls and never replied on email.

Long story short: Jim shipped me a second actuator, it's even worse. Causes tailgate handle to get stuck and won't close without opening tailgate cover. I'm sure you can see this would be very bad if you are out on the trail. Ed won't give refund. Neither Ed nor Jim are responding to my contact attemps now.

I am now out of pocket $140 and the seller & manufactuer have both disappeared.

 

Poorly Engineered and Manufactured

Here is a top-down photo of both units I was sent (top is the replacement unit, bottom is the original unit with manufacturing defect). Notice how the white plastic block is angled differently onto the metal backing plate. Extreme difference here and confirms I wasn't crazy not being able to install the original unit.

Other curiosities:

• Label shows the same part number TAC09CHSA but has much clearer printing on the new one. I still strongly believe the first item I received was some other customer's defective return. It was doomed from the start.
• Both units have cheap connectors - I would like to see something with heatshrink to prevent moisture corrosion as this is supposed to be a premium product.
• Both actuators are molded with PopLocks in the plastic. These are the same actuators as a Pop and Lock brand, just using a different inferior mounting configuration??

Here is an alternate angle view (foreground is the replacement, background is the original). You can see how the metal plate is bent differently. Again, wildly different products. But okay sometimes one slips through QC so I'll give it a try.



Installation instruction manual shows this is how it should look when unlocked and locked. Notice the small metal rod just slides in front of the tailgate handle latch mechanism and blocks it from rotation. Simple enough...





Actuator comes with a long bolt to replace the right-hand stock tailgate handle bolt, and a spacer sleeve to position the assembly properly. Instruction manual says "MUST BE VERY TIGHT" and from my testing it seems they are relying on this torque to keep it in place. This in itself is prone to failure as the actuator torque is greater than the clamping force of the bolt. If I was actually going to use it, I would use a generous amount of blue threadlocker to make it stay put.



The replacement unit actually does fit properly around the tailgate handle but it is still a sloppy fit. I have it pushed to the limit and the metal bracket does not match the angle of the black plastic tailgate handle like I imagine it should. The actuator rod also partially strikes the black plastic tailgate latch. Over repeated use I imagine this would break the plastic. Fail.



But wait...there's more! Once the actuator is in locked position, that metal rod goes at a wonky angle and doesn't really do it's job. It can be bypassed by brute force. Worse yet - it blocks the tailgate handle/mechanism from returning to closed position and is stuck open. You would have to remove the inner tailgate plate and manually reset it. Critical Fail. Game Over.



Here's a video filmed with my potato phone and annoying narration to better show the failure in action:

https://youtu.be/rAzr2MDF8M4

 

The Demise/Disappearance Of Both Companies?

As I mentioned above both Ed and Jim stopped responding to me circa May 2021. Now that I'm writing this review in March 2022 I've noticed some new changes. First oddity: Both dynoproducts.net and dynolocks.com websites have gone offline and the domains are just parked at the registrar.




I'm in IT by day trade but it doesn't take technical skills to know this is a bad sign. Doing a bit of amateur Internet sleuthing on opencorporates.com shows Dyno Products business registration in Texas changed status from "Active" to "In Existence". In other words it still legally exists but they no longer operate. See how this occurred right around the time I was trying to get a refund/replacement? Cool cool cool.



Without doxxing the CEO of this company, only other thing I can say is they have lots of public posts on social media. Apparently he spent my money on his big fancy house, dancing lessons, and some things I can't talk about because forum rules don't allow politics/vaccine talk. Draw your own inferences.

As for Jim and the other company DynoLock.com I can't find anything online about it. Only search references point back to Dyno Products. No idea what kind of arrangement they had but it all seems to have vanished into nothingness.

Both crappy websites exist on the Wayback Machine and confirm my other evidence that both went defunct sometime middle of 2021.

https://web.archive.org/web/2021*/dynoproducts.net
https://web.archive.org/web/20030515000000*/dynolock.com

Good riddance, scumbags. Hope you enjoy my $140. I bought a Pop and Lock PL8521 instead like I should have in the first place.