A travois is two long poles forming a V, with the narrow ends held by the puller and the wide ends dragging on the ground, and a platform or net lashed over the dragging half to carry the load. Because the ground carries most of the weight, a load sitting 1.0 m from the ground ends of 3.5 m poles loads the puller with only 29% of its weight, and the rest is dragged.
Part of Sled & Travois Construction
A travois is the simplest load-moving frame: two poles with a platform, pulled by a person, dog or horse, with no axle, bearing or wheel.
The Ground Takes Most Of The Weight
Before the wheel, everything was moved on sleds and travois: no bearings, no axle. The poles are fixed to the puller at one end and rest on the ground at the other, so the load acts like a weight on a lever. Take moments about the ground ends. If the poles are L long and the load’s centre sits d from the ground ends, the puller must lift W × d / L, and the ground carries the rest.
Assumed figures: poles 3.5 m long (the parent article gives 3-4 m for a person), a load of 40 kg with its centre 1.0 m from the ground ends (the cross-members and platform sit in the rear half).
- Puller’s share = 40 × 1.0 / 3.5 = 11.4 kg, which is 29% of the load
- Ground’s share = 40 - 11.4 = 28.6 kg
The dragging part must overcome friction. The corpus puts the sliding coefficient of wood on dirt at about 0.4-0.6 (The Wheel). With 0.5 (a mid-range figure):
- Drag = 0.5 × 28.6 = 14.3 kgf, about 140 N
So a traveller pulls 14 kgf and lifts 11 kg, against carrying all 40 kg. The saving is the weight, and the cost is the drag. That is why a travois suits long distances and rough ground more than short, smooth ones.
Two Poles, One Platform
- Poles: straight, strong, 3-4 m long, 5-7 cm across at the butt end for a person (Human-Pulled Travois)
- Spread: 40-50 cm apart at the pulling end, 80-100 cm at the ground ends
- Cross-members: lashed between the poles in the rear half
- Platform: small poles, branches or fabric on the cross-members
Advantages Over Carrying
- The ground supports most of the load; you supply the horizontal pull and lift the front.
- Less fatigue over long distances.
- An injured person can be moved lying on the platform.
What You Need
- Two straight poles, green wood if you can (Materials & Lashing)
- Cross-members and platform material
- Lashing: rawhide, cordage, wire
- A harness or pad for the puller
The parent article reckons about 30 minutes to build with an axe and some cordage, which makes the travois the fastest load-carrier to put together from nothing.
Common Mistakes
- Loading near the puller’s end — the puller carries more of the load; place the weight toward the ground ends.
- Poles too short — the puller’s share rises as the poles shorten, since it is d / L.
- Rigid, bumpy poles on rough ground — every bump transmits to the puller or animal.
- Pulling downhill with no brake — the load can overrun the puller; see Human-Pulled Travois.
Safety
A dragged load on a slope
On a downslope a travois load can slide forward and strike the puller’s legs, and an injured person on the platform can be thrown off. Keep slopes gentle, never wrap the pull strap round the body so it cannot be dropped, and strap the load or patient to the platform.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Human-Pulled Travois — the person-powered version
- Combine with: Terrain & Technique — choosing sled, travois or wheel