# Bending Western Plow Frames



## Utah IP (Jan 31, 2017)

We have been using 14 Western Pro Plus Plows since 2004 without issue. The last couple years we have purchased 6 Prodigy Plows with the Ultra Mount 2 system. All of the plow frames have been bent this year and some of the Ram 2500 truck frames they’re mounted on have also been bent and tweaked. The plows have been good but the lift frames are bending. Our local Western distributor tells us we must be abusing the plows and hitting things very hard to do this type of damage. They refuse to offer any assistance. We find it hard to understand that many different, experienced drivers could all be abusing their trucks and plows this way. Everyone is doing it the same way they always have but now plows and trucks are being damaged. Just by looking at the new Ultras vs our old ones they don’t look nearly as strong or beefy but the distributor tells us they are proven to be stronger. Has anyone else had any issues with their Ultra Mount 2 systems or Ram truck frames? Thanks


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Post up pics


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

x2 on pics

The Ultra 2 system seems to be pretty beefy as compared to a standard ultra in my eyes...


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## Utah IP (Jan 31, 2017)

This one is just starting to bend. It's not too bad now but will get a lot worse. Eventually the bending moves up the "A" shaped lift frame until it's so tweaked it can't be mounted on the truck anymore. It's part #4 in the breakdown. We've bought several of those and replaced already.


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Looks like it's bending right where the horn hit's it. That correct?


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## Utah IP (Jan 31, 2017)

Yes, the tube that goes between the horns gets bent way out of shape and the whole lift frame eventually twists out of alignment. Now that we're aware of the problem we notice it earlier and stop using but at first guys didn't realize what was happening and used until really bent up.


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Hopefully an installer will chime in


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## 1olddogtwo (Aug 6, 2007)

Wow.....Can't say I've seen that before.


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## Hysert (Dec 16, 2009)

Yes thats strange??? Something ant right somewhere? Did you mean the trucks frames are bent or the plow mounts are bent?


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## Utah IP (Jan 31, 2017)

Both plow mounts and truck frames have bent. We had to have 2 Ram 2500's (a 2015&2016) frames straightened at a collision shop.


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## seville009 (Sep 9, 2002)

Same driver in both 2500's when they got bent? If not, were the trucks being used in the same lot each time it hapoened?


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## TJS (Oct 22, 2003)

I have said this in other "bending posts". Steel DOES not bend by itself unless you are David Blaine (sp) or something. There has to be impact or heat and or some type of force. To me it looks like force as I see no heat was applied because of the coating/paint is still in tact and I do not see a magician either. Argue away, but I have been working with steel for many years and my theory has not changed. What is perplexing is that the tube in question is bent toward the front and not "pushed back" but rather pulled. So to me (again) guess here is that someone was windrowing left and hit something that would not move on the left corner of the plow causing this right side tube to pull forward. Again this is just a guess, but someone hit something imovable regardless.
Also to bend a frame of the truck should answer your question.


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## Western1 (Dec 4, 2008)

Did dealer install plows and mounts?


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## Utah IP (Jan 31, 2017)

All different drivers, different locations. A couple weeks ago we had a 15" dump. A couple were bent then, including the one I drive. I had been being extremely careful all season. I would hop out and check the plow frame everytime I bumped into anything or had any hard impacts. In the middle of this 15" push I was getting gas and checked it and it was straight. About 2 hours later I had an electrical problem and when I took the plow off it was bent. I know I had no impacts but was pushing serious snow and heavy rows of snow.


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## 1olddogtwo (Aug 6, 2007)

A tow strap would do that

I would imagine the mount the A-frame would be covered in snow would be kind of hard to see that.... least I think it would after pushing a 15 inch snowfall...... I could be wrong, probably are.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

Something fishy here...


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## seville009 (Sep 9, 2002)

I see that it has grease zerks on each end of the pivot bar (don't have them on my Ultramount). Do you grease them? If not, I wonder if, without them being greased that there's enough force and friction to cause pressure in that area. Doesn't seem like it would, but you never know.


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## kimber750 (Sep 19, 2011)

Which way where truck frames bent? Up,down, left or right? I am thinking your guys were getting a little aggressive stacking snow.


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## John_DeereGreen (Jan 2, 2011)

Multiple trucks and multiple operators and multiple plows with the same issue?

Are they all on different routes or are there common lots between them?

I do not understand how anyone could bend a truck frame far enough that it needs a frame rack to straighten, and not realize they hit something and bent the frame.


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## Hysert (Dec 16, 2009)

Nor can it be a metal problem!! Highly unlikely all 6 prodigys came from the same batch (lot #) of A frames/head gear!! And by the looks of the bolts you should still be in the window of DDs 2 year warranty?? Never seen a western bend there before


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

Utah IP said:


> Both plow mounts and truck frames have bent. We had to have 2 Ram 2500's (a 2015&2016) frames straightened at a collision shop.


It bent the truck frames?????????????????

Am I reading that right?

That is abuse or uneducated...one or the other.


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## TJS (Oct 22, 2003)

Hysert,
The OP states in his post he did go to the plow dealer and they denied him. To the OP :Why not go to the dodge dealer and state you have defective metal frames in your trucks and see what they say. Wonder what answer you will get there....


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

So this problem only started with the Prodigy?


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

Mark Oomkes said:


> So this problem only started with the Prodigy?


I was just thinking the same thing.

How do those wings work when you straighten you blade to approach and lift over a curb???

Are they forward (scoop) or straight or what?

Never seen a Prodigy in person...


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## Hysert (Dec 16, 2009)

Dealers can be a PITA bc they don't make F all on warranty work? That's what I'm trying to say... dodge will laugh at him as well...


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Philbilly2 said:


> I was just thinking the same thing.
> 
> How do those wings work when you straighten you blade to approach and lift over a curb???
> 
> ...


You could be on to something, we never had a problem with our SpeedWing...same thing as the Prodigy. Granted, it wasn't a frontline plow, but still, we had it on a heavy 3500 DRW and a F450 with a sprayer or POS SaltMutt.


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## Hysert (Dec 16, 2009)

As for the frames bent, OP what direction were they bent? I'm betting both rails in the same direction either left or right


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## 1olddogtwo (Aug 6, 2007)

My money is tow straps

I don't know how many times I've seen people attaching straps to pull somebody out


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## ktfbgb (Jan 31, 2016)

1olddogtwo said:


> My money is tow straps
> 
> I don't know how many times I've seen people attaching straps to pull somebody out


I would never let someone hook a tow strap up to my plow frame and then pull on it the opposite direction of how it was intended to be used. But it does appear to bent in that type of fashion.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

1olddogtwo said:


> My money is tow straps
> 
> I don't know how many times I've seen people attaching straps to pull somebody out


I would tend to agree except the op said he was driving one of the trucks, careful not to hit anything, and bent it in two hours of plowing...

Somthing fishy....


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## Dogplow Dodge (Jan 23, 2012)

Philbilly2 said:


> I would tend to agree except the op said he was driving one of the trucks, careful not to hit anything, and bent it in two hours of plowing...
> 
> Something fishy....


Is it possible that Western is using some type of steel that doesn't conform to strength standards ? I wouldn't be surprised to hear of something like this.

If so, then I would also assume that this issue would be much more widespread than just one company with 7 plows.

To the OP. DO you have / Can you post more photos ? Different angles, views ? Other plows than the one you showed in the photos?


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## Utah IP (Jan 31, 2017)

Thanks everyone for your comments. Our main goal was to hopefully connect with another company that encountered a similar problem with their Western Plows or Ram 2500's. At least now if someone Googles this issue something will pop up. Maybe we're just a bunch of bad, abusive plowers that wreck things no one else has. I don't have more pictures, the really bent up ones have been fixed by replacing the lift frames. We'll see what happens going forward but we are done with this combo of truck and plow. Oh, and no tow straps were involved.


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## Dogplow Dodge (Jan 23, 2012)

Okay, that's great.

Where are the old lift frames ? You didn't throw them out, I would hope. You will need those to substantiate your claim with Western. I'm sure if there is indeed an issue Western (Corporate not the local dealer) would want to know about it, and need those upright frames for review.


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## TJS (Oct 22, 2003)

So it sounds like you purchased new ones. If those were mine I would be cutting that horizontal tube to see what wall thickness it is. Then I would have more proof if they were in fact underbuilt. I would have then cut that tube out, replaced it with square or rect tube with a good size wall as well as adding guessetts at the end. Less than 25 bucks worth or material and some time. Done.


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## Hysert (Dec 16, 2009)

TJS said:


> So it sounds like you purchased new ones. If those were mine I would be cutting that horizontal tube to see what wall thickness it is. Then I would have more proof if they were in fact underbuilt. I would have then cut that tube out, replaced it with square or rect tube with a good size wall as well as adding guessetts at the end. Less than 25 bucks worth or material and some time. Done.


Can't use square the receivers won't fit!! But you could add a thicker wall or another smaller pipe to fit the ID and double them up??

OP are your plows out of the warranty window?? I had western replace spinner motors on the first gen 2 versions of tornados due to sheer point in the machining process, both were out of warranty!!! John Murphy is the guy to talk too


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## wirenut (Jan 16, 2004)

cheap Chinese steel and they make them so lite so they don't hold up...
if they are going to cheap out on material they need to add a few gussets..


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## Avalanche 2500 (Dec 31, 2015)

Utah IP, find new drivers for your equipment !!


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## sno commander (Oct 16, 2007)

I have tweaked my truck frame and plow frame with my pro plus on my Dodge. I was plowing a parking lot about 12 mph blade straight sander full of sand moving alot of snow, plow caught a big crack in the pavement and didn't trip, truck just kept going. I think these Western mounts are a little weak where they bolt to the dodges, I extended my mounts farther back on the truck to avoid anymore damage.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

sno commander said:


> I have tweaked my truck frame and plow frame with my pro plus on my Dodge. I was plowing a parking lot about 12 mph blade straight sander full of sand moving alot of snow, plow caught a big crack in the pavement and didn't trip, truck just kept going. I think these Western mounts are a little weak where they bolt to the dodges, I extended my mounts farther back on the truck to avoid anymore damage.


So I am seeing a trend... it appears that Dodge might be the weak link in this...


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

Had a guy damage his Dodge frame, Western plow a few years ago. I was not impressed with the plow frame. There was not much to it.


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## On a Call (Jan 14, 2015)

1olddogtwo said:


> My money is tow straps
> 
> I don't know how many times I've seen people attaching straps to pull somebody out


Did you ever see that youtube video of the guy trying to pull a semi and the whole plow frame broke away ??

I will see if I can find it.


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## On a Call (Jan 14, 2015)

By the way...even Boss frames bend if used hard or incorrectly. I have seen it but....never by me. The A frame that is halfway down to the point where the angle changes.


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## On a Call (Jan 14, 2015)

Randall Ave said:


> Had a guy damage his Dodge frame, Western plow a few years ago. I was not impressed with the plow frame. There was not much to it.


Okay here it is....





Now if that would have been me....

1) I would have cleared the area first
2) A snatch strap would have been used !!!!
3) I would have salted under his tires.
4) I would have collect $ 50.00 up front 

Sorry...not trying to hyjack the thread !!!

I am leaning more toward faulty design or poor materials.


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## ktfbgb (Jan 31, 2016)

Philbilly2 said:


> So I am seeing a trend... it appears that Dodge might be the weak link in this...


Affirmative.


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

On a Call said:


> Okay here it is....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have pulled them out, he should have pulled him backwards first. And I get 200.00 for it.


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## On a Call (Jan 14, 2015)

Randall Ave said:


> I have pulled them out, he should have pulled him backwards first. And I get 200.00 for it.


I like how you think !!

yeppers that would have been the right way.

But...again I cannot say it enough...no chains, snatch straps  .


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## On a Call (Jan 14, 2015)

Philbilly2 said:


> So I am seeing a trend... it appears that Dodge might be the weak link in this...


Um...no

In fact.....if you drive a GM...you may not want to watch this.
But I am off topic, I think ?? 

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=dodge+pulling+a+chevy

If you cannot Dodge it, Ram it.






Ford...


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## On a Call (Jan 14, 2015)

Randall Ave said:


> I have pulled them out, he should have pulled him backwards first. And I get 200.00 for it.


Now he was looking at down time, a possible $ 400.00 bill, and a headache.

I like your idea


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

On a Call said:


> Um...no
> 
> In fact.....if you drive a GM...you may not want to watch this.
> But I am off topic, I think ??
> ...


So let me get this right???

2 different guys (the op and now sno commander)

both have tweaked frames

Both drive dodges

But a video a back to back is supposed to prove anything???????????????????

Come on man... don't be a fool.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Yeah, we wouldn't want to dredge up all those threads aboot Chebbies that need gussets to repair\keep their frames together. 

Or when was it? Back in the late 90's or 00's when Chebbies were cracking frames on a regular basis? Like I said, a local dealer had it down to 24 hours for a complete swap, they did so many. 

They all have their problems.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

Mark Oomkes said:


> Yeah, we wouldn't want to dredge up all those threads aboot Chebbies that need gussets to repair\keep their frames together.
> 
> Or when was it? Back in the late 90's or 00's when Chebbies were cracking frames on a regular basis? Like I said, a local dealer had it down to 24 hours for a complete swap, they did so many.
> 
> They all have their problems.


Remember the gmt400 frames on a c3500 when a dump truck cab would touch the bulkhead of the dump box... ha ha.

Back on topic.
How many of those chevys bent the plow and truck frames though?

I am just speaking a western plow mounted on a dodge frame... there is now a trend Randall makes 3.

Just trying to put all the material together.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Philbilly2 said:


> I am just speaking a western plow mounted on a dodge frame... there is now a trend Randall makes 3.
> 
> Just trying to put all the material together.


We still haven't gotten good answers from the OP.

Randall says he pulls semis oot with his plow frame.

I don't know who #3 was. Or #2. Or whichever.

It might be the combo of the Western and Dodge.

Or maybe it's abuse, like Pat's Wipeouts and my Blizzards\SnowEx's that in reality just aren't supported enough because I plowed with LoPro's for many a season withoot ever bending.....but they change the design in '07/'08 and they start folding under.


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## Philbilly2 (Aug 25, 2007)

sno commander said:


> I have tweaked my truck frame and plow frame with my pro plus on my Dodge. I was plowing a parking lot about 12 mph blade straight sander full of sand moving alot of snow, plow caught a big crack in the pavement and didn't trip, truck just kept going. I think these Western mounts are a little weak where they bolt to the dodges, I extended my mounts farther back on the truck to avoid anymore damage.


This was #2 or #3


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## On a Call (Jan 14, 2015)

There are extreme cases certainly.

I bent a Western plow frame once when a semi ran a stop sign and I plowed into him.

He then hops out of his truck and yells why did you not stop you saw I was coming through. Glad the officer saw it my way  > .


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

Mark Oomkes said:


> We still haven't gotten good answers from the OP.
> 
> Randall says he pulls semis oot with his plow frame.
> 
> ...


No, didn't say that, I'm not that dumb. I was referring on how to pull him out. Now all trucks have problems. I think the Dodge frame was strong enough. My opinion is the Western plow frame should have been beefier.


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

Randall Ave said:


> No, didn't say that, I'm not that dumb. I was referring on how to pull him out. Now all trucks have problems. I think the Dodge frame was strong enough. My opinion is the Western plow frame should have been beefier.


LOL....I was KIDDING.


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## Dogplow Dodge (Jan 23, 2012)

On a Call said:


> Um...no
> 
> In fact.....if you drive a GM...you may not want to watch this.
> But I am off topic, I think ??
> ...


I'd like to see a F350 dually, vs a 2500 dodge SRW, and see what happens. Shouldn't the dually truck generally get better traction than a SRW truck ?


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)




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## sno commander (Oct 16, 2007)

I think it's a combination of the western mount and the Dodge frame, I think the Dodge frame is plenty strong western needs a mount that grabs more area on the frame.


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

Mark Oomkes said:


> They all have their problems.


even today, well yesterday, I drove by the chevy/ toyota dealer and there is a stack of truck frames out back...

dont see that out back of other dealers...


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## LapeerLandscape (Dec 29, 2012)

SnoFarmer said:


> even today, well yesterday, I drove by the chevy/ toyota dealer and there is a stack of truck frames out back...
> 
> dont see that out back of other dealers...


Nope, the Fords and Dodges are not worth repairing.


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

hows the water^




















































you know in the river.



























of




de~ Nile


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

The Toyota dealer here, from what I've heard, has a section in the shop, all those guys do is replace frames. Now how come Jeep never had to replace frames per warranty.


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## Western1 (Dec 4, 2008)

On a Call said:


> Um...no
> 
> In fact.....if you drive a GM...you may not want to watch this.
> But I am off topic, I think ??
> ...


Really?


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## TrainWreckJack (Jan 7, 2022)

Pass comments on the Ultra Mount bending: I agree on the weak framing/metal used on the Western MPV3 Ultra mount. I've also noticed after 3 years of use, the frame is starting to bend and I do not abuse or have I run into anything hard. I'm the only one using the plow and is used on my driveway... approx. 1000'. Eventually I'll have to replace it but just wanted to let others know that there does appear to be a defect and Western needs to improve the strength of.


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## Western1 (Dec 4, 2008)

Pics?


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