As a medical provider, I do my best to use the safety equipment as designed. Risk management is up to the user of the equipment. I wouldn't think any less of you for going that route, but elevation and patience work for me.
I unhook the lower latches and prop up the seat with a box, release the seat back latch, then I usually have enough slack to unhook the tether. It took a few tries to get good at it and it's not frustrating anymore.
It's a design carryover from larger models for stiffening. They are designed to handle high speed offroad running on full size trucks, like in Baja. I can confirm they hold up well to abuse with my experience on my Tundra with the full tent camper. I'm constantly opening the side panels for...
I got the front and rear window. That's going for $4,500 now. Not only can you access the beds from the side, you can pretty much put anything you want on top of it in terms of weight.
I went with this GoFast option. I have one of their tents on another truck and I really like everything about it. I wish it was a tiny bit taller, but it didn't change my MPG on the hybrid.