I have hunted through dingy streetside department stores, the great halls of Kad Suan Kaew, and the infinite threads on this very forum for something that should be found everywhere. I need a laundry stand (one of those racks, not lines for hanging) and can't find one. Help?

Chiang Moi Road, middle section between Thai Military Bank and small canal bridge. Many shops on either side of the road. Just poke around as some only show the furniture on the pavement side.

Big C, Tesco, Carrefour et al

I second cmsally's suggestion. Greenside is also right that there should be some at the big chain stores too.

Here is a link to a mapjack view of one of the stores on Chiang Moi Rd. You can see a number of styles of laundry stands displayed outside the shop. http://www.mapjack.com/?u4ZyUWZfacND

Most moobaans have someone or will know of someone who will come to your house and build one out of much more sturdy materials than the cheapos sold in the shops. They will custom build it according to the size you want, how many rows of bars, etc. and weld it together, paint it, etc. either on the spot or at their shop and deliver it.

Central dept store at Kad Suan Kaew has laundry stands tucked away in their housewares dept just left of the mop and broom display. Many of them aren't assembled, so it's easy to overlook them. They're stainless steel models, mostly Japanese-made.

The houseware and cheap furniture stores along Chiang Moi also have them. These tend to be smaller and less sturdy than the ones at Central, but also much cheaper.

All the ones I've seen are light-duty models intended for use in a bathroom or balcony.

I think if you want a sturdy, outdoor model, you'll going to have to get it made. My mom had one when I was a child that was huge. It could dry a week's worth of laundry for a family of four (including sheets and towels). My dad made it for her and he was quite proud of it. That still didn't stop my mother from lobbying for a gas dryer and eventually she got one and my dad converted the laundry dryer stand into a teether ball pole for us kids.

Some of the department store ones are actually quite sturdy. They do however tend to not fit all your clothes, especially the long pieces so you'll need a line hanging somewhere too as a supplement. As for what to buy, the aluminum frame ones are ok, just don't get one with the plastic connector joints as these tend to break soon after buying from the stress placed on them as you push n pull them around the yard or street to get the right sun exposure. For the difference of 100-200 B you can get one with the metal joints and it will last longer and serve you better.

By the by, the Thai can take a couple of long bamboo poles, cut them up, and wrap together (tepee style) two base stands of 3 pieces, with a separate piece of bamboo going across the two for about 100 B and you have a perfectly good stand that way. Advantage is price and feeling a little more native. Also using natural resources vs plastic n aluminum. I'm having my fix-it guys make me one of these this week.