I have not had any big problems with them twisting. As a platform I think they work great, and they are lighter than the cranford rope steps too. The big problem is since the strap isn't super tight (again I haven't used a ratchet), they start to slide down, and once there is play in the strap from one side to the other they squeak on me.
Like you said once we get this strap super tight, then we can work on improving the actual platform. Regardless we have to figure something out because the plastic ameristeps are no longer made and way too expensive on ebay.