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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ilbranteloth" data-source="post: 7286217" data-attributes="member: 6778044">A simple way would be to use the same capacities.For example, a cart designed to be hauled by one horse/mule has a capacity that matches the animal it's designed for.A wagon designed for two horses is twice as much.The reverse is also true, the cart is designed to only accommodate one animal. So if you want to increase your hauling capacity to 2 or more animals, you need a wagon.I think this is true as well. The way a typical cart is designed, there are two poles (one on either side of the horse). This is necessary to balance the load on the horse. Since there are only two wheels, steering is accomplished by turning the entire cart.Whereas a wagon has a steerable front set of wheels, with a center beam that goes between a team of two or more horses. This doesn't even have to be a solid beam that's permanently connected to the wagon. You could design a cart that would work for two horses, but it's probably more practical to switch to a wagon at that point.Another factor that comes to mind is there's probably a limit to the usable size of a cart. Since there aren't front wheels, the horse(s) hold the load up in addition to pulling it. With a wagon, all of their effort is in pulling it.There's little reason to design a larger wagon that will only be hauled by two horses, as the extra weight of the wagon will offset any gain in capacity (unless your cargo is bulky but light). Otherwise you'd have wagons designed for two horses, four horses, and possibly more.Technically, the weight of the cart/wagon wouldn't increase the same amount as the capacity. If you're concerned about that, consider that the increase in weight of the vehicle itself is a percentage of the increase as a whole. Perhaps 50% less when designing for a second animal, and 50% less again for the second pair. Of course, people purchase better technology (wagon vs. cart) for other reasons. The ride is smoother in a wagon since it's riding on 4 wheels instead of 2 wheels and bouncing on the back of the animal up front. The wagon naturally remains level when disconnected from the animals, and it's probably easier to hook up a team to the harness of a wagon as well. So assuming a draft horse, the options available would be:1-horse cart is 200 lbs. with a capacity of 340 lbs.2-horse wagon is 400 lbs. with a capacity of 640 lbs.4 horse wagon is 600 lbs. with a capacity of 1,560 lbs.There would be no need to design the cart/wagon to carry more than the intended animal is capable of hauling.</blockquote>

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