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I could tell you a story about how strong those ladders really are, despite appearances. I've told it here before and it relates a really dumb "stunt" on my part.
Doug, I used to strap the bike carrier to both the rung and to the vertical part of the ladder. I also strapped the bikes to the vertical part of the ladder and another rung or two as well as to the carrier. I didn't think about it at the time but that probably better distributed the load than just strapping it all to the one rung. They were solidly strapped so they moved with the ladder and did not bounce up and down on it. Maybe that's why we had zero problems with two adult mountain bikes back there for about 35,000 to 40,000 miles.
Was yours strapped to just the one rung? If so, maybe this would help others avoid the same problem.
By the way, back in 2002 when I visited the factory I met with a rep and specifically asked about bikes on the ladder and was told no problem at all with two adult bikes on a ladder bike rack. If they say differently now when you talk with them, please let us know.
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