The TPI Asphalt Tools saga continues

Well folks those on this forum are probably familiar with the TPI Asphalt Tools Company. Well the tank that we ordered, prepaid and waited months for... finally came with no seals on the agitator ends, leaking welds, and misaligned gears didn't stop there. Today nearly a year and a half later I got a bill from Central Transport that they are back charging me for the freight because they didn't get paid from TPI. this even though all of my invoices and bill of laden shows it to be prepaid. They claim there is some federal law (interstate Commerce) that lets them do that. All I know is I have paid dearly for having dealt with this company and I'm not about to get done for another $250. I suggest anyone who got items from this outfit to notify their accounts payable people to make sure they check any freight bills that come in. Good luck and be careful of guys like this.

He got me for over 4 hundred bucks. I paid half the cost plus shipping for a MA-10 melter. first few calls he was very nice to me then nothing no returned calls or emails.

Some vendors don't like to follow through once they have your money. That's why I buy from Brewer[phone removed]) and Surface Coatings[phone removed]). Brewer sent me the wrong part for my Grazor, called them today and they even paid the return shipping. Both companies, I can just call and they ship what I need ASAP and bill me.

You'd think with all the bad raps they got they'd be out of business, but they're still advertising tanks cheap. http://www.asphaltstore.com/trader/item.asp?ITEM_ID=532 . Wasn't real impressed with him or his business. Luckily for me I picked up a 10 gallon melter and crack bander. To bad because the equipments fine and I like to save money.

Just an FYI: They are back under a new name http://www.sealtuffmfg.com/ Don't know of you got your items or not, just thought I'd mention it.

he has some awesome prices.... Too bad hes a RIPOFF.... id like to order a few more melters from him after seeing his prices... but after all these months of hearing what a crook he is guess ill stick with Seal-Rite and brewer

Hey Rip, Call him, tell him what you want to buy. Tell him you will pay when you pick it up. He is not that far. If he don't like it he don't make the sale. AC

I bought a 10 gallon melter from him, which I picked up. After 2 seasons it's ready for the trash. Just wondering if an Able or some other brand would have lasted longer?

RippedHog wrote on Nov 4, 2005:Go to #6

he has some awesome prices.... Too bad hes a RIPOFF.... id like to order a few more melters from him after seeing his prices... but after all these months of hearing what a crook he is guess ill stick with Seal-Rite and brewer

It seems amusing how we become "bargain hunters" sometimes and forget that many times "you get what you pay for". And my personal favorite " there never was anything that couldn't be made cheaper for less money ." I don't know about a lot of companies but I have met the folks at Seal-Rite, they don't appear to be making millions ripping people off by over-pricing equipment and I know in the busy months they put in lots of long hours. They do have a highly professional "real" manufacturing facility (not a workshop or whatever). (I only use them as an example, I do not know if they make their own crack melters and have sure never used one, but have heard no complaints.) I am pretty sure most quality manufacturing companies are similar (with the exception of SealMaster whose equipment may be OK but their policy of pricing their stuff really high so they can give people a big discount is kind-of aggravating to me personally). Graco doesn't make the cheapest stripers (see Trusco) and if you make enough shows & look closely you can spot where some manufactures on various equipment cut corners here or there on a component or how thick some metal is etc. It's one thing (IMHO) to look for the best price on toilet paper or green beans but we are talking about equipment people plan to use to make a living (or at least a profit) and run a business; so I always have been amazed (over my 20+ years in the field) how some of these cheap companies come & go and there is always a market out there for them of people just looking to save a buck.... Just like whoever buys those "business in a box" deals on e-bay...

Tim Trost has declared bankruptcy I know this because I called Livingston County police department to try and recover the money he stole from me and the officer I spoke to said that he is bankrupt and I would have to contact his attorney. In the end a melter that should have cost about 1000 bucks ended up costing 1400 because this con man stole my deposit and I had to then buy one somewhere else.

I have one ma-10 I bought from Surface Coatings in 99 still working fine. Blue one. [phone removed]

its true tpi asphalt did go bankrupt we just were not equipped to fill the huge amount of orders we received and did not expect so many orders and we got so backed up we had some people canceled there orders 99% of those who canceled received a refund and the few who did not will be getting one soon,sure there are the few of the same people on this site that tpi did not make happy and believe or not some have re ordered equipment from tpi all of the equipment built from tpi was made with the same gauge steel as sealmaster seal rite and all the other company's out there. melter's 14 gauge tanks 10 gauge sidewalls 7 gauge heads our new company seal-tuff is under new management they build the highest quality equipment and use the best components like emglo compressors ,wilden pumps,Haney hose reels our shop is more equipped to handle more orders with much faster production cheaper prices are not to good to be true. if you order from us you are more than welcome to pick your equipment up at our shop.also anyone who ordered equipment from tpi and had a problem with it can bring it to seal-tuff and we will repair it for free,or if you are out of state send us the proof of the repair and we will reimburse you for it. the two people on this site with problems are the only two people that have ever came forward with problems. out of hundreds of sales thank you, Tim trost

Tim, Please give us more details of the new company. Did you find an investor or is somebody else running the company and you just work for them. When I picked up a melter and bander I didn't have problems. My 2 year old melter which is on it's last leg did get a lot of use. In the mean time why not refund Kris his money for the melter he put a deposit on?

Tim, sounds like you are spending money and even starting to sell the merits of the "new" business. You may want to contact and get Topkote's and Kris' issues resolved ASAP.

not that any of this is my business, i agree with "cormac", acutally a year or two ago, i was very close to purchasing a 30 gallon and walk behind from tpi, and liked the prices (i was skeptical however, and the thought of "lower price" may not mean best quality/service) not long after i seen some negative feedback on tpi,i moved on and got a 10 gallon stationary and walk behind "used"...."word of mouth" is very strong as we all know, i realize that not everyone is totally satisfied in business (especially if company goes bankrupt) and not that plp is the nerve center of the sealcoating world, but correcting some problems of some unhappy folks might lead to people (especially plp people) in buying your products and build up a good reputation and make good on some issues with disgrunted customers....i want another 10 gallon walk behind pretty bad as we speak, i am sorry...but from what i have read, chances are very high i will deal with a more established company...even though i may have to spend a few more dollars more....

Not trying to be a "punk" or anything.. but does TPI know what either a (.) period is or how to use the <SHIFT> key when starting a new sentence?

If they were going to really follow thru and fix their mistakes, I wouldn't worry about grammer.

OK Mr. trost: Lets just see how sincere you are about making good on your commitment to those of us you have shortchanged. Send me the seals, gears and crank mechanism for the 550 you sold me and a check for the freight that was back charged to me. I'll take care of the labor as I've already done the repairs once. If you do I'll let everone on this board know that you did. I'll also post a picture of the parts and the check. Also send Kris his $1400.00. If you have as much business as you claim to have that little amount surely won't be a big deal. You have my number and address. Topkote

topkote what size is the bearing/shaft on the crank also you do not have to pay for the shipping send that bill back to them,thats been takin care of and criss is owed $450.00 and will be refunded and if you had all the problems with the tank why did you wait over a year to post bad feedback on this site anyway send me your address to [email removed]

BUYER BEWARE..... NEED MORE INFO ON THIS OUTFIT ?? http://www.fairburyfastener.com/court_news.htm http://www.sealtuffmfg.com/ SAME OUTFIT Mr. trost: I'm still waiting for my money!