Mobile Logistics and Carts

Mobile Logistics and Carts

This guide covers Rimgate's mobile hauling system: how carts are unlocked, how to load them, how to push them efficiently, and when to use refrigerated or gate-transfer workflows.

For gate operations, see Gate Network Guide.
For overall unlock sequencing, see Research and Progression.

At a Glance

• Carts are short-range logistics multipliers, not caravan vehicles.
• Every cart uses the same load radius (10 tiles from the cart).
• Loading uses Hauling work; designated pushing uses Basic work.
• push to... keeps cargo loaded; push and dump... unloads at destination.
• Enabled carts can be used as mobile stockpiles for construction materials and food.
• Refrigerated carts preserve perishables only while fueled.
• You can push a loaded cart through an active gate for map-to-map transfer.

Unlock Path

1. wheelbarrow via smithing.
2. tracked cart via tracked cart research (Rimgate_TrackedCart).
3. Refrigeration upgrade via refrigerated lining (Rimgate_RefrigeratedCarts).
4. hover skid tier via hover skid (Rimgate_HoverSkid, Goa'uld branch, techprint-gated).

Cart Comparison

Cart	Capacity	Push Speed Penalty	Fuel Model	Notes
wheelbarrow	136 kg	Heavy (Rimgate_PushingCart severity 0.85)	None	Cheapest early option; no breakdown/fuel complexity.
tracked cart	320 kg	Medium (0.55)	chemfuel, push drain scales with load	Strong midgame hauler.
refrigerated tracked cart	300 kg	Medium (0.55)	chemfuel, continuous refrigeration drain + load-scaled push drain	Preserves perishables while fueled.
hover skid	520 kg	Light (0.15)	naquadah, push drain scales with load	Highest raw capacity; explosive on kill.
refrigerated hover skid	500 kg	Light (0.15)	naquadah, continuous refrigeration drain + load-scaled push drain	Best cold-chain hauler; explosive on kill.

Fuel and Runtime Notes

• Push fuel use is load-scaled with a baseline: carts always consume at least the listed base push rate while moving, and at full load consume about double that base rate.
• Non-refrigerated carts (tracked cart, hover skid) consume fuel only while being pushed.
• Refrigerated carts consume fuel continuously when parked to maintain preservation, and also use load-scaled push fuel while moving.
• If a refrigerated cart runs out of fuel, sealed preservation drops and normal spoilage ticking resumes.
• If fuel runs out mid-push, the push job fails and the cart is restored nearby.
• Full-tank baseline endurance:
  • tracked cart: base 67.5/day while moving (15 fuel = ~5.3 in-game hours at empty load), up to 135/day at full load (~2.7 in-game hours)
  • hover skid: base 57.5/day while moving (10 fuel = ~4.2 in-game hours at empty load), up to 115/day at full load (~2.1 in-game hours)
  • refrigerated tracked cart: 25 at 5/day (~5 in-game days)
  • refrigerated hover skid: 25 at 4/day (~6.25 in-game days)

Loading Workflow

1. Select cart and click Load.
2. Build a load manifest from reachable, non-forbidden items within 10 tiles.
3. Keep total requested mass at or below cart capacity.
4. Confirm; haulers begin load cart jobs automatically.
5. When loading finishes, you get a completion message.

Important behavior:

• The system can partially complete manifests.
• If no pawn can continue loading for about 10 seconds, the manifest auto-finalizes and remaining shortfall is reported.
• You can cancel loading at any time with Cancel load.
• Unload drops all contents near the cart.
• Allow use cart contents toggles whether colonists can pull items directly from the cart without unloading.
• Carts cannot be pushed while a load manifest is active.

Using Cart Contents Without Dumping

Allow use cart contents toggle

• Each cart has a per-cart allow/forbid toggle for direct access.
• Allow means colonists can treat the cart as a valid source for supported jobs.
• Forbid means the cart behaves like sealed transit storage until manually unloaded.
• The setting persists when the cart is pushed and restored after transit.

Construction materials

• If a cart is set to Allow, builders can pull required resources directly from it.
• Blueprint placement/readouts and right-click construct checks treat enabled cart contents as available resources.
• This removes the need to pre-dump cargo before construction work begins.

Food access

• If a cart is set to Allow, hungry colonists can take ingestible food directly from the cart.
• This supports practical field use (for example, survival meals left in a working cart).

Pushing Modes

push to...

• Moves the cart to a chosen destination cell.
• Cargo stays in the cart.
• Usable for repositioning stock near production, killboxes, or gate rooms.

push and dump...

• Moves the cart and immediately dumps contents near destination.
• Best for one-way warehouse refill or field resupply.

Pushing through a gate

• Use push to..., then target an active gate.
• Requirements:
  • gate must be active
  • iris must be open
  • pusher must be able to reach gate interaction cell
• Result: cart and pusher are transferred through the gate, then respawn on the connected map.
• push and dump... is for cell destinations, not gate transfer.

Work Priority and Control

• load cart is Hauling work type.
• push cart is Basic work type.
• Manual float-menu push options are available for direct pawn orders.
• Cart work can be issued in drafted contexts, but regular automation still depends on your work priorities and availability.

Common Mistakes

• Building manifests from items outside the 10-tile load radius.
• Setting up load manifests without enough Hauling priority.
• Expecting Basic-disabled pawns to execute push designations.
• Starting long pushes with low fuel and stalling mid-route.
• Using push and dump... when you meant to preserve cargo for gate transfer.
• Forgetting a cart is set to Forbid and expecting builders/eaters to pull from it.
• Treating carts as caravan cargo animals (they are explicitly non-caravan).

Strategy Checklist

• Keep at least one wheelbarrow early to flatten hauling spikes in construction phases.
• Use tracked cart for dense base logistics; step up to hover skid for mega-hauls.
• Reserve refrigerated variants for food/medicine lanes where spoilage prevention pays for fuel.
• Keep a fuel stockpile near high-traffic cart corridors.
• Pair one cart lane with each high-volume cluster (freezer, fabrication, hospital, gate room).
• For gate logistics, pre-stage loaded carts near the DHD/gate to reduce transfer delays.
• Keep high-throughput carts on Allow when you want them to function as mobile stockpiles.