Oh yeah, I followed those directions to a "T". I didn't want to fool around when dealing with two possible projectile missles strapped to the top of the vehicle.

When I say washers, I'm talking about the metal threaded nut (gold/brass colored) that is embedded in the plastic of the mighty mount.

As far as fatigue being a factor - I've only had the mounts for a year, so we're talking about probably a dozen or so uses. I take the mounts off when not hauling my kayaks.

Thanks for all the suggestions, keep them coming. I think I'll order another set, and go the extra mile of using longer bolts, with at least one additional washer at the bottom of the bolt. This will be in addition to not tightening them like crazy. And I'll keep a WICKED eye on the mounts.

I'll try to get some pics scanned of the broken mount so everyone knows exactly what I'm talking about here.