I owned a 2000' FWC Hawk for 12 years and one mistake I made was procrastinating about the lift struts for the top. One of the reasons I got the hard side was because I got tired of lifting the pop top and I know it would have been much easier with the struts in place. I can also tell you it gets much harder lifting the top the more weight you put on the top. Make sure you tell them the approximate weight you will have up top and they can size the struts accordingly. Go to Wander the West forum, you will get a lot more replies there for this subject. Hope this helps!