In my quest to construct a hammock stand that fits in my trunk, I think I finally have a winner. After four attempts of making a turtle dog stand with legs that fold (and break), I decided to try good old fashioned steel, and instead of a tripod stand, I decided to go with a bipod stand. For each stand, I used two 48" lengths of 14 gage slotted angle iron and two 36" lengths of 14 gage slotted angle iron, then I bolted them together to form 72" lengths, bolted the two supports together (and suspended a ring to pass the suspension through), attached a guide / ridge line through the top holes in the stands, and passed the supports to brace it to the rear through the same holes. I also used some amsteel to form spread limiters (and loops to stake the legs in place). For the stakes to the rear of the stand, I opted for 12" spikes, as all they have to do is hold the stand upright (the vertical force is supported by the steel, not the line, and the hammock suspension is directed into the ground and deflected by the bipods.
Everything is held in place with 1/4 x 1" machine screws, and I used wing nuts and washers on all connection points. The hammock is suspended from 16" corkscrew type ground anchors, and the marlinspike hitch came in handy when my whoopies were too short . The entire thing will fold down into two 48" stands that will fit in my trunk.
Here are photos! Enjoy!
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