I have hauled a 40 ft ladder on my Ranger PU on several occasions w/o a ladder rack. Rental Yard guy said no way, not possible. But once I explained how it was to be done he was cool with it.
The ladder is 20 ft collapsed, and its very stiff. You didn't say what your steel was. Tube, flat, angle? And how much weight. That fiberglass ladder was probably 100 lbs??
What I did was put a moving blanket on the cab roof. And another on the tailgate.Put the ladder on the blankets and equalized the overhang off of the cab and tailgate. IIRC it was 3 or 4 ft at each end. I used 4 or 5 MC tiedowns and pulled the "very stiff" ladder down to the bed from all 4 corners. The ladder was tight, wasn't going to budge unless I was to roll the truck.
Your sticks of steel probably aren't as stiff as that ladder, and therein is your conundrum. If you can cut it, that's probably best. If its heavier tubing, and they are bundled together, that same approach may work for you.
I had the red plastic on the ladder and no hassles on my round trips to the rental yard.