I made about a dozen different dog bones of different lengths to see at what point the hammock became too tipsy (not to mention messing with the structural integrity of the spreader bars - which mine are carbon fiber). In the end, I shortened the foot end by about 8" each and left the head end the same. As much as I would like it to fit better under a 12' tarp, Brandon had the RR designed about right for best functionality. That being said, you can shorten them more and roll the dice with stability. The thought of me rolling the hammock one night, especially while under the bugnet, was not appealing (although might be funny). The Town's End bridge design does fit a little better under the 12' tarp, though, because the spreader bars aren't as far apart.
There is an older thread out there that discusses people changing out the dogbones in a lot more detail.
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