Patent ID: 7412315

Claim:
A steering system for an articulated vehicle, comprising: a) a first frame; b) a second frame pivotally connected to the first frame by a pivot joint; c) at least one hydraulic cylinder, connected between the first frame and the second frame and spanning the pivot joint, to articulate the first frame and the second frame relative to one another; d) a proportional solenoid actuated hydraulic valve in communication with the hydraulic cylinders to control the flow of hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic cylinder; e) an operator controlled steering input device; f) a processor communicatively connected to the proportional solenoid valve and to the steering input device to control the valve in response to inputs from the steering input device; and g) a sensitivity selector including a gear selector sensor configured to determine a desired steering sensitivity setting, which is a desired steering response to a given operator input to the steering input device, the sensitivity selector being communicatively connected to the processor to provide an input signal to the processor that causes the processor to vary the signal output to the valve in accordance with the input signal from the sensitivity selector, wherein the setting of the sensitivity selector is determined by what gear the vehicle is in.