The upright poles support the majority of the weight of the tent. The first time you set the tent up putting the first upright pole in it shouldn't be that difficult. However, putting the second pole up is more difficult and it can be useful to have somebody lifting on the pole and somebody lifting on the roof. You should not have to do that though other than the first time setting it up. Sometimes the canvas is tight and that's normal. Once you assemble the tent everything will stretch a little bit, but will still be very taught. Each subsequent time setting the upright poles up should be much easier. The models are shipping now have a newly designed receiving end that used to be called a d-ring. Now it's a self resting pin that does not require you to line it up with your fingers. I hope that makes sense. If it does not please feel free to reach out to us.