1994 Hallmark Ute 6.5” - roof lifter & umbilical cord

The roof lift really should be operable by a single person.
It is the traditional scissor type, right? If so, there are torsion springs inside the top bars. They may just have aged. In any case I would try to fix the actual problem rather than apply a band-aid (gas struts).

The Hallmark people were very nice to us when we visited their factory a couple of years ago. Contact them, they should be able to help. Since you are in CO, you might even get them to work on your camper.