Which mobs can carry chests in Minecraft?

Minecraft players only have so much storage in their inventories. For this reason, they often craft chests to expand just how many blocks, items, and gear pieces they can secure. Sometimes, though, players need a means of taking their chests on the road. There are a few mobs capable of carrying the extra weight and following players on long-distance journeys with their goods in tow.

Although players can use things like boats with chests to transport goods, it's also possible to enlist the aid of three distinct Minecraft mobs, which can be equipped with a saddle and chests. This may not be the fastest means of transporting goods in the game, but it's certainly useful when other options aren't available.

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Minecraft mobs that can carry chests for players

Llamas are dependable pack mobs for Minecraft players to utilize (Image via Cubey/YouTube)

As far as vanilla Minecraft is concerned, there are three mobs that are capable of carrying chests:

• Donkeys
• Mules
• Llamas

For these animal mobs to carry chests, they must first be tamed. This can be achieved by attempting to ride them repeatedly until hearts appear (this can be made easier by feeding the mob). Players can then equip chests and use them on the animals. Donkeys and mules equipped with chests will have 15 inventory slots for players to utilize, but llamas are a different story.

Specifically, llamas have an inherent "strength" value assigned to them upon spawning that determines how many slots they will possess when equipped with a chest. This will result in llamas having a range of three to 15 slots available in their chest inventory. Donkeys and mules can also be equipped with saddles and gain control over which direction they're being ridden.

It should also be noted that leads can be attached to all three Minecraft mobs. Doing so for llamas attracts nearby tamed llamas to congregate and form a caravan with a maximum size of ten individuals. If each llama is equipped with chests, this massively increases the storage capacity that players can depend on for long journeys.

Even better, shulker boxes can be placed within chests carried by mobs, vastly improving the potential storage space. Each mob can only utilize a maximum of 15 inventory slots with chests equipped. However, each shulker box has its own self-contained inventory slots that can multiply the number of blocks and items held within the mobs' chests.

Theoretically, if Minecraft players were to fill a chest with shulker boxes attached to a donkey, mule, or full-strength llama, they would gain the ability to increase their storage capacity to 405 stacks of blocks and items, which would amount to 25,920 items/blocks in a single chest. This is increased even further when using a 10-llama caravan, boosting storage capacity to 4,050 stacks or 259,200 items/blocks.

At the end of the day, how Minecraft fans transport their resources is up to them, but using donkeys, mules, and llamas shouldn't be discounted as a viable option. Sure, blocks like ender chests are invaluable, but using a nice llama caravan or riding a well-equipped donkey into the horizon can be incredibly useful before players ever step foot in the Nether.