weld problem-Boss

[PINEISLAND1]

Anyone have this problem on their Boss'? Is it common?

<img src="http://www.geocities.com/tfrontjes/plowweld.jpg">

[Lazer]

Don't get me started!

Mine's slightly worse and I've never hit anything. A lot of our older units have been MUCH more abused and are just fine.

[Alan]

And I thought taht Sno-Way was the only ones who had absolute crap welding quality control.

[GeoffDiamond]

My Fisher's Don't do that.

Geoff

[diggerman]

Yeah,grind it down weld it up and go back to work, its not a major issue.Of my 8 I have to fix one of these points every now and then,we just repair them when they are in the shop getting serviced after a snow.

[Lazer]

No and the 1st 2 types of Boss V's didn't, either.

This is only a problem on the 1998's and newer.

This problem (and the RTII) has really bled off my brand loyalty to Boss.

[John Allin]

We've had only a handful of problems with our Boss's over the past 6 years. What is depicted is not one of them. However, I'm with Digger - grind it out, weld it up, and go forward.

At least you don't have to weld it daily (like with Meyers).

[Lazer]

John,
Do you have any of these new ones?

[John Allin]

We're having a brand new one installed on a 2001 3/4 ton Dodge later this week. You can be sure that I'll be taking a close look at it once it comes in, and having my mechanic take a close look at the welds you showed in your picture.

Can't be too careful.....

We bought a brand new one last season too - and we'll be looking at that one on Monday too, just in case.....

[Lazer]

It's not a weld flaw.

It's a design flaw that snaps the bottom port side retainer ring and places undue stress on the seam weld.

I don't believe it's coincidence that PineIslands front plow look identical to the ones I've seen including mine.

[Greenman2ooo]

I'm curious. I've heard others talk about the fact that the Boss is a full trip blade which can't trip in the V position. Do you Boss fans think perhaps this could be caused by this? I'm not trying to bash Boss since I know a lot of you guys love them.

BTW-

I looked at the SnoWay Lobo the other day and was highly underwhelmed. It was really "tinny" and not nearly as heavy as the Boss or Western MVP.

[Lazer]

Greenman, it's not that, because for 10 years Boss built full-trip blades that you could beat on until the truck frame bent and the plow would hang in there like a bulldozer blade.

Now, I do think (know) it's high time for Boss offer a trip-edge plow or they'll lose customers.

But this (minor) design flaw is not directly related to the full-trip feature.

[Greenman2ooo]

Lazer-

They already lost one. Me. I like the plow. I just was hesitant since even a Boss fan such as yourself admits it is high time they offer a trip edge plow.

I bought the MVP instead since members of this forum advised a trip edge plow would save wear and tear on both the plow and my vehicle. Eventhough I can't speak from experience, it made sense to me when advised that a trip edge design would protect both vehicle and plow a little more.

Maybe my MVP won't last any longer because of the trip edge design, who knows? Either way, it may have cost Boss a sale.



[Edited by Greenman2ooo on 11-27-2000 at 02:50 AM]

[John Allin]

Sure enough.... We checked our Boss plows and found that we had two with the welds cracked in the area shown on Pineislands' picture. We've fixed them.

Thanks for the heads up.

[DaveO]

Lazer,

Can you explain your theory of the design flaw in more detail. I don't own a Boss, or have one in front of me to look at. I'm trying to understand what you mean. It does appear the welds are being overstressed.

Dave

[PINEISLAND1]

Hey John-

Did you do anything else to them other than weld them? Is there any other fix or idea to prevent it from happening again?

[John Allin]

Naw... we just ground it out and rewelded it. We'll see if it was enough after the next couple plowings. We'll be paying closer attention to it now that you've brought it to light.

[Chuck Smith]

Just a thought. If you were to reinforce that area somehow, then the next weakest area will give instead. May be best to just grind, weld, and leave it alone.

~Chuck