Boss V- Plow causing welding to snap X900 bumper

BiffNH

BiffNH

Well-known member
NTT Patron
At the end of last winter (my third with my X900 and Boss V-Plow) I heard a large snap and got out to find that one side of my bumper had broken. I am a conservative plower and I had not been doing anything unusual. When my machine got taken in for two recall notices I just mentioned the break (which I welded) and asked if this is something they had seen. Well, in fact is seems that this is a problem and Kubota and Boss have not been able to come up with a fix! I hope this is not the end! The plow is heavy, but I hope that something can be done. I doubt my weld will be a permanent fix.
 
I just sold my x900 with boss vplow for the JD Gator XUV835M. The boss vplow is a great blade but it was overkill for me. Sometimes I struggled getting the blade on. The blade for the gator is no way as heavy duty, but I can put it on in 5-10 minutes then take it off when not needed. On the kubota I left it on all winter. Good luck with yours.
 
I agree that the Boss plow is solid, but putting in on and taking it off is a 1 minute job. The connection system is beautifully designed and efficient. The hardest part is getting down on my knees to plug the electric harness in! The plow is heavy and it drops and rides nicely for plowing. The scoop function is handy and I love using it, but now that the bumper snapped I will certainly be gun shy! I am not an aggressive plower so I can't say that I've been rough on it. Time will tell whether or not my weld is all it needed.
 
Good for you that it only took a minute, I must of been putting it on backwards or something. Not a problem anymore though.

Kubota and boss vplow were great equipment, I just wanted To go a different way with the gator 835M.

Good luck on your weld.
 
BiffNH said:
At the end of last winter (my third with my X900 and Boss V-Plow) I heard a large snap and got out to find that one side of my bumper had broken. I am a conservative plower and I had not been doing anything unusual. When my machine got taken in for two recall notices I just mentioned the break (which I welded) and asked if this is something they had seen. Well, in fact is seems that this is a problem and Kubota and Boss have not been able to come up with a fix! I hope this is not the end! The plow is heavy, but I hope that something can be done. I doubt my weld will be a permanent fix.
Click to expand...

Could U post a photo of the problem area??
 
I had a recall on my X900 and the dealer took it in for the recall (rear knuckles and fuel tank). While it was there I asked about the break and the Boss plow. I received a call from the dealer saying that "this has been a problem" and "there has been a number of broken front bumpers with Boss V plows." He said that Kubota and Boss have not come up with a "fix". They liked my welding repair and wished me luck. They said that I should not ride around much with the plow hanging if I am not plowing. I explained the when I am not plowing I take the plow off. I do hope that there is a fix and that they will take care of it. I purchased the plow with the machine since the dealer recommended the plow for the Kubota.
 

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Can you back that pic up a little? I don't have a plow but that looks like the same area I have a crack and even without any stress (like a plow) mine cracked there.
 
I guess I was lucky, mine never cracked with the plow on, I left it on all winter when I put it on. So I was very lucky. On the Gator I bought, the plow manufacturer said if you left the plow on you should strap or secure it in the up position when not in use to reduce stress on the plow and machine. It took me longer than a couple of minutes for me to install the boss plow so I left it on. The plow on the gator will take me less than 5-10 minutes to put on, so it will only be on when needed.

Bill
 
628pm said:
On the Gator I bought, the plow manufacturer said if you left the plow on you should strap or secure it in the up position when not in use to reduce stress on the plow and machine.
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Now, that's confusing to me. My entire life, if you wanted to reduce stress on a machine, you ALWAYS drop ALL the implements to the ground. If you leave anything in the air, there's always some part of your machine that's working to hold it up.


Strapping your plow up may reduce stress on the plow but your suspension is working extra to hold it up there.
 
As everyone has said it is best to take the blade off if not in use, but if you have to travel any distance with the blade not in use and it being raised it is better to secure it so it doesn’t bounce around. Sorry if I didn’t explain it good enough.
 
bczoom said:
Can you back that pic up a little? I don't have a plow but that looks like the same area I have a crack and even without any stress (like a plow) mine cracked there.
Click to expand...

Sorry, picture was taken last spring. The snap is at the main horizontal member of the bumper where the 2" receiver is. In the picture you can see the black frame that is the Boss carriage for the plow.
 
628pm said:
As everyone has said it is best to take the blade off if not in use, but if you have to travel any distance with the blade not in use and it being raised it is better to secure it so it doesn’t bounce around. Sorry if I didn’t explain it good enough.
Click to expand...

I agree, but in order to secure the plow while raised one would need to tie it to the upper portion of the bumper. This, unfortunately, doesn't help since all the weight of the plow is still on the bumper frame. When I welded the snapped area I found that the tubing is really quite thin, so my guess is that the bumper itself is just not designed for the dynamics of plow stress.
 
I never secured my boss vplow on my x900, and I kept it on all winter, no issues with the weld (never thought to secure it while going a distance). But on the Gator I bought the manufacturer said to secure the blade if you are going any distance while the blade is up. Yes there are negatives and positives about doing that (positive is that is what the manufacturer suggested). I can only see myself going any distance if I clean my in laws drive which is a couple of miles away. Other than that if the blade is not in use it will be off.

So good luck with your boss vplow, hope your weld holds for you on your Kubota.
 
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