Astronaut Uni-Tred Space Hauler

Uni-Tred Side View

MMM Uni-Tred - What is it?

The Uni-Tred Space Hauler is a single tread vehicle that held a couple of figures in a red enclosure located on top in seated position. The vehicle could be dissembled into three parts and re-assembled in a few combination. The unique gearing of the Uni-Tred enabled it to pull the Space Bubble over obstacles at a fairly high rate of speed. A middle tier (called simply "white supply base" in the instructions) could be withdrawn from the Uni-Tred and used to haul cargo (two rubber-band stays allowed cargo to be sturdily tied-down to the platform without flying off as the Uni-Tred traversed heavy terrain).

The Uni-Tred has an interesting front grill-like feature that seems out of place in context with the no-atmosphere moon. In all, still a very cool vehicle and a staple in the MMM collection.

Uni-Tred Top View

Uni-Tred Front View

Uni-Tred Bottom View

Uni-Tred Back View

Uni-Tred Components Front View

Uni-Tred Components Back View

Patents:

TOY WITH VARIABLE TORQUE-PRODUCING MEANS (Unitred)

3,540,152 Nov 17, 1970 Filed Aug 22, 1968

Janos Beny and Donald C. Hartling

"A motion-producing toy such as a vehicle or crane which automatically shifts temporarily from high to low speed operation to obtain a corresponding increase in torque for overcoming obstacles or heavy loads. The toy includes an output gear with ratchets at its side which can shift axially for engagement with either a high speed gear at its periphery or a low speed gear at its side, and an inclined coupling member for axially shifting the output gear when a predetermined torque is reached."

Patent Found by John Eaton

John's Notes  

We start getting into the hidden complexity of the Unitred with this patent.

Maladies:

• Broken or missing switch
• Melts in the seat (happens when a figure is left in the cockpit)
• Missing "nose"
• Missing white supply base
• Missing Battery cover
• Corroded Contacts

Variations:

• Mexican Camara Antigravidad - the Cipsa version is made with a slightly darker plastic

John's Notes:

From the prototype that I own, I believe the Uni-Tred was original proposed as a larger vehicle with the same treaded design - my prototype has a "cat track" label. I think the name was used for the smaller figure accessory then the design expanded into what the Uni-Tred became.

Vehicle may also be found in:

• 6339 Uni-Tred and Space Bubble
• 6346 Uni-Tred Space Hauler
• 6353 Lunar Base Command Set
• Mexican Camara Antigravidad
  

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