Using a ladder stand by any means other than the manufacturer's instructions is completely at your own risk! I am showing you what I did and how I did it, but I am not telling you what you should do, or how you should do it. Use common sense and consider any modifications to a ladder stand to be at your own risk!!
I took an old, uncomfortable two-person ladder stand and converted it into a deer blind ladder and porch landing by removing some of the original materials and hardware, and reassembling it without doing any welding.