Articulated work vehicle with steering selection

An automatic steering system for an articulated work vehicle having a front frame, including a front wheel steering system supported by front wheels, a rear frame supported by rear wheels and rotatably coupled to the front frame at a pivot defining an axis of articulation, an articulator configured to adjust the position of the rear frame with respect to the front frame, and a receiver configured to receive a steering instruction, the automatic steering system comprising:

• a front wheel steering sensor operatively connected to the front wheel steering system;
• an articulation joint sensor operatively connected to the articulator;
• a front wheel steering control input operatively connected to the front wheel steering system;
• an articulator input operatively connected to the articulator;
• and
• a controller operatively connected to the front wheel steering sensor, to the articulation joint sensor, to the front wheel steering control input, to the articulator input, and to the receiver to receive the steering instruction, the controller including a processor and a memory, wherein the memory has a plurality of program instructions stored thereon, that in response to execution by the processor causes the control circuitry to:
• identify a position of the front wheels with the front wheel steering sensor;
• identify a position of the rear wheels with the articulation joint sensor;
• generate a first control signal based on the steering instruction and the identified position of the front wheels;
• generate a second control signal based on the steering instruction and the identified position of the rear wheels;
• and
• adjust the position of the front wheels based on the first control signal and adjust the position of the rear wheels based on the second control signal.

A method of automatically steering an articulated work vehicle having a front frame, including a front wheel steering system supported by front wheels, a rear frame supported by rear wheels and rotatably coupled to the front frame at a pivot defining an axis of articulation, an articulator configured to adjust the position of the rear frame with respect to the front frame, the method comprising:

• receiving, at the articulated work vehicle, a steering control signal from a global positioning system;
• adjusting a position of the front wheels using the front wheel steering system based on the received steering control signal;
• and
• adjusting a position of the rear wheels using the articulator, based on the received steering control signal to position of the rear wheels to follow the same path as the front wheels, to ensure that the rear wheels follow in the same tracks as the front wheels.