Land track vehicle

Claim 1

A tracked vehicle comprising a chassis, a first wheel mounted for rotation adjacent the left front end of said chassis, a second wheel mounted for rotation adjacent the right front end of said chassis, a third wheel mounted for rotation adjacent the right rear end of said chassis, a fourth wheel mounted for rotation adjacent the left rear end of aid chassis, a first flexible endless belt fitted over and extending between said first wheel and said fourth wheel, a second endless belt fitted over and extending between said second wheel and said third wheel, each of said belts having an inside surface engaging the wheels over which said belts are fitted and an outer surface and including a ground level flight extending between the lower portions of said wheels over which said belts extend and with each belt also including first and second parallel inwardly extending ribs extending inwardly from said inside surface of said belts and extending around the entire periphery of said inside surface, a plurality of skid means attached to said chassis and supported adjacent and engaging the inside surface of each belt along each ground level flight wherein each of said skids include a horizontal metal plate having a low-friction layer of plastic attached thereto with the said low-friction layer forcefully engaging said inside surface of each belt for resisting upward movement thereof wherein said skid means comprises plural skid units mounted on each side of said chassis with each skid unit comprising a transversely extending pivot shaft having three of said horizontal metal plates pivotally connected thereto and fixedly supported by a pivot shaft support bracket.