My new FEL/backup camera solution.

newbury · May 27, 2019

I've a 50HP tractor I use to move my 20 & 24 foot (12K) trailers around using a Front End Loader (FEL) clamp on hitch. With the hitch on the FEL I cannot see the ball. Sometimes it has taken me 15 minutes of creep forward, dismount, analyze position, reverse, try again, repeat, repeat, repeat to get the ball in the socket. There is no adjusting a 12K loaded trailer by hand.

Before I Wyzed up I've used 2 cell phones running Alfred Home Security app and a ReoLink setup.
Both augmented by a Mobley, duct tape, magnets and various battery solutions.

I have bought some $20 Wyze cameras to use. First I tried using the "mobile hotspot", that worked once but my cell signal/phone combo is so weak the second time I couldn't hook up a camera. The V2 camera recognized the hotspot but would not finish the connection.

Today I brought out the Mobley.
Hooked it up in the same place I had tried the hotspot and the hotspot failed. Worked great.
So I stuck the camera on the FEL, put the battery (Samsung 10 AH $16), Mobley in a bag

Laid my phone on the Kubota instrument panel (although the tractor was made in 1995 it looked like they had designed it to hold my cell phone),
Wham, Bam, thank you Ma'am - hooked up, only 1 dismount to adjust the trailer jack.
At that time I moved the camera to the back of the trailer so I could see when I got within ramp door length of the other trailer.
Note the complex hookup. Not designed for highway speed

Then moved the trailer around, slid it into the parking space, could see to adjust the distance between obstacles. DONE