I had 2 Northstars and an Outfitter with Heco lift systems in them , all were problems if the roof weight was much more than just a shell of the basic roof , adding cabinets , AC ... and the crank handle brass gear would strip - or push out while raising the roof .
I built handles with more extension that made it easier to lift . I know a drill would just chew up the crank gear , the gear is made soft so it fails first . I see now they have changed to making the cranks with harder gear material and the weld to the handle is supposed to break if to much force is applied to it
I used to push up on the roof with my shoulder to push the roof up the first few inches which helped ; now I have had surgery's on both and that would`nt work for me either
More torsion can be put in the system ,but after a while that weakens too .
About the time I sold the Outfitter they where making a elecric system to add to the Heco one , but the motor would go behind the rack and mess with the bed space
But I see now that Rieco -Titan is making a system to replace the whole Heco one . I would defiantly check it out if I had a pop up now
https://www.riecotitan.com/image/catalog/instructions/electric-roof-lift-instructions.pdf
