I figured it was about time to officially call the project a success and share some pics of the final product.
I have the tablet on a Ram mount off of the A-pillar. I recently upgraded to the size “C” ball and socket for more holding power. I have a little enclosure under the tablet with a 12V outlet, and USB adapter. I was originally hoping to charge via the USB, but that didn’t end up working out with the FZ-G1.
The (headlight) rocker switch is the “work switch”, and the foot switch is the “steer switch”. I’ve quickly realized that I want a different setup with the work switch and steer switch. In the future, I want to convert those to reside on the first hydraulic lever so I can easily toggle the work and steer switch when raising/lowering the implement. I’ll have to come up with a joystick for a few buttons and switches on that lever.
Surprisingly, the WAS mount was one of the unexpected aspects of the project that took a long time to perfect. I ended up using weld nuts on the axle to mount the spacer/riser thing, and one on the steering arm for the link to the WAS sensor. I wasn’t happy with the mount until I put an 8mm shaft through 2 608 bearings to support the arm. Relying on the sensor itself for any sort of mechanical support of the sensor arm was a no-no, and was asking for trouble. It uses a sensor from the local JD dealer.
At the heart of the system is the Baraki OC 30L valve. I originally thought that I was going to try to fit it under the hood, but I’m glad I didn’t. When I got the valve, and started playing around with the fittings and hoses, I quickly realized it was going to be too tight of a fit. I had an issue to work through with the valve, and thank goodness I had good access to it. It’s tucked in just behind the engine pan.
I’m working on a clone of this system for a 5088. A couple of things I’ll do differently this time:
- I’ll have to come up with a different WAS mount, since it has a round axle tube instead of a nice square one like this tractor.
- Like I mentioned, I want to make a hydraulic lever joystick for convenient placement of the work and steer switches, and forgo the rocker/foot switch setup I have with this tractor. I’ll probably upgrade this 5488 once I have something figured out.
Other than that, I’ll do everything about the same as with this 5488.