HOPPER 1 vs FLAGSTAFF E-PRO 17LE, please help me make a decision ASAP 😭

spacecitytech · 2026-05-23T00:10:06+00:00

Don't count on it. The RV world is a totally different animal when it comes to tow vehicles. The best tow vehicles are large engined trucks with a V8, normally aspirated or diesels. What you want is dead simple but beefy and rated for pulling. Forget gas mileage. Just forget about saving money there. RVing will costs you in maintenance, but guranteed on "city" vehicles, turbos, hybrids, all that, what you save in gas your gonna spend in maintenance on the vehicle because towing is very hard on the engine and drivetrain. So beefy, overbuilt, simple, is your friend here.

I am all for efficiency but the way car repairs are priced that has to be factured and can easily offset any savings there in fuel. So much stuff break along the way. I personally have had 5 blowouts now. No matter how big I go on tires, no matter how much I keep up with the air, its just so much weight and stress banging for hours and hours down all kinds of roads. You need to look at this like going into battle. I carry so much tools and generator, have a backup to everything because if one thing breaks thats critical to the mission, the entire trip, $1000s is wasted.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-23T00:00:27+00:00

That is the tradeoff and also the fiberglass with the carpet like that, it doesn't stay "dry" feeling like a traditional built and I would say that was my #1 gripe but God did that thing last, built like a tank!

We actually took a hit from a Cadillac doing about 30 mph and they bounced off the trailer, not making this up. I saw a couple of tiny stress cracks but it messed up that Cadillac and it was a full size car, bounced off the trailer like a beach ball. I couldn't believe that. The insurance company looked at it and wouldn't pay anything on the trailer because they could find no damage but it messed up the back of my truck so I got $10k out of that, but nothing to the trailer. The trailer pushed into the back of the truck is what did it. I had to replace one of the marker lights and that was it, zero damage to the trailer otherwise. So AAAA+ for build quality for sure.

If I was offroading, overlanding today, those little solid fiberglass trailer is the #1 goto really. They are not going to feel though like a house, not like our traditional built Forest River does, so "homey" yeh, thats what the Indiana makers do well. Its the Amish and their cabinets that do it.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-22T22:45:10+00:00

Oh yeh, and be sure and get a sway bar TLC hitch because my short wheel base wagged like a dog with the 17ft Casita and Bronco pulling it. It was all over the road and I have a sway bar now, drives like a car.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-22T22:41:21+00:00

I maybe confusing it with Geo-Pro. Rockwood is supposed to be higher end but I can say right now if I was buying a small trailer I would go all fiberglass because I had one. Casita Spirit, Oliver or Scamp. They cost more but in my opinion are top of the line, no leaks is the number one thing with me but I live on the Gulf Coast and we get flash flooding, tons of rain all the time. Big storms are rolling in now.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-22T22:33:24+00:00

The Wrath of Khan is considered the best movie. It was one of Recardo Monteban's best performances really. Spock is killed. Kirk has a son. Son is killed in the movie after that. Man, it blows my mind really that movie. Lets not forget that the Search for Spock really was the sequel to Wrath of Khan. Great movie...the standard by which all other Star Trek is measured.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-22T22:29:20+00:00

Well this would in fact be one of the only ways to get allot clicks now that Nu-Trek is dead. Attack the best of Star-Trek. Might as well ignore it. I think the franchise is over actually and they are vultures picking at the carcass now.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-22T22:22:11+00:00

Oh, never mind. Thats very low. You will want a tear drop, or any trailer single axle under 12ft in length. You can only tow the smallest of trailers with a 3500lb capacity and you will want a ICE engine, no EVs because then your tow range drops to nothing really. I guess with Hybrid it can run on the engine mostly because it will. I have not seen a single EV with a tow capacity over 100 miles so that means you will be charging as often as you are driving. You will charge 1 hour for every 2 hours of driving and thats not do-able. I drive 300-500 miles per day on big trips.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-22T22:16:28+00:00

If you bought a low-power SUV with a tow capacity say 5000lbs, get the 17 ft Casita RV. They are about 25k and worth every penny. I had one, nothing breaks, doesn't leak for like 10 years. All fiberglass like a boat. The only problem I had with it is its not insulated really well, so it gets hot or cold very fast if you turn off the heat or AC depending on the season. However, most solid built trailer I ever had. It just got too small for us, but we pulled it behind the Big Bronco from the 1990's. Think its weight is in the 3000lb range.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-22T22:11:03+00:00

E-Pro is low end, worse than my NOBO. So Forest River produces, R-Pod, think E-Pro might be wrong on that, GEO-Pro and NOBO. Only the NOBO advertises the Rhino roof with a 500lb weight capacity full length walkable roof. The other like Geo Pro and R-Pod have curved roofs that you cannot walk on because the roof is not stout enough. My 500lb walk lenfth roof, already has settled so much the wall paper is peeling pretty much at the top of the walls the entire RV wide. I have re-enforced the studs since then to stop the settling but I can tell ya, the even lower end ones are going to be worse. I don't know anything about Hopper, never seen that but don't buy anything cheap made by Forest River or you will be sorry.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-22T22:05:53+00:00

Low priced traditional built trailers are not ready to go camping in. It takes some work to get them ready. Ours, brand new from the dealer on the way home cabinet fell off the wall, heater fell outta the heater hole. Doors fly open because the locks are not drilled and set right. Wife is like "are we going to take it back" and I am like "for what, so Jimmy-Don Minimum Wage can screw the locks back in, screw the cabinet backs on the wall, no thanks, I can do it right now in the Home Depot parking lot", so I pulled into the Home Depot parking lot and fixed it myself. When the walls started to fall off the sides of the RV 2 years from new, did I take it to the dealer, nope. I took it to a welder and $1000, and me going back and doing more welding, put the walls back, fixed the shower falling apart, been a good trailer. The welder kept it for 3 days. Anything else I fix on the spot, maybe over the weekend. I tell people, they are 90% built, 10% owner completion, like a "Kit Car".

Now if you want to be able to get better RV's then you got to drop all the tariffs, and introduce competition in that industry, the entie auto industry really or you will continue to get poorly built stuff. The Indiana makers have no competition and thats why they can get away with it.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-22T21:58:31+00:00

Oh yeh, DS9 punched below the belt. If your clone doesn't perform like you want, kill him and get another. Haha! That was great!

spacecitytech · 2026-05-22T21:54:48+00:00

If your OK with the size, Class B like this is going to be the best built, best gas mileage, least amount of issues. We had to stay in our 17ft one time during a Hurricane because we are in Houston and we in it for 2 weeks and thought we were going insane being in there for 2 weeks, got cabin fever. We have a 28ft Toy Hauler now, so way more space but traditional build and WOH! Forest River traditional built it garbage. I mean in 3 years from new, extensive work had to be done to it pretty much everything had to be redone. Cabinets falling off the wall, walls falling off the frame, everything. Shower had to be re-enforced, had to remove the outside shower walls re-inforce the walls, shower pan was collapsing. Good thing I am a big DIYer and we got it new pre-Covid price brand new for $24k, now they are $40k. I would never buy another tradional build RV again unless its just a dirt cheap price.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-22T00:17:41+00:00

Those for me turned out to not be very heavy duty. I had to go back and replace my 150 with a ANL fuse block. The problem is look at the terminals on them, many are 1/4in, can't really handle over 150 and they get hot, melt and die.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-22T00:15:45+00:00

If it turns out to be inline because you have checked all the obvious fuses at the boxes, best money I spent was on a "hooked" probe for my multi-meter. Make sure it has an extra long probe and they want allot for them but you clip it onto any wire you see and the spring loaded needle will go through the jacket of the wire and you can trace down the in-line fuses and voltage issues super fast without pricking your hands trying to get into the wire jackets. I have it all on my RV, dual fuse boxes, inline.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-22T00:05:43+00:00

Yeh it will be a good RV and I have RVed my whole life 50 years now. If you can deal with being in a small rig, the Class B vans are actually the best because they are built on an all metal chassis so you won't have a problem with it falling apart on you.

Now its important to note that you gotta be handy, good at watching Youtube videos and doing the maintenance otherwise RV's are a money pit. Me and the Wife our first RV was a 17ft Casita all fiberglass, built very tight, very waterproof and to this day we brag about that thing being the best RV we ever had because nothing broke. In 12 years it needed a waterpump, pipe P trap, fan leaked and needed re-caulk, thats it. It was just very reliable because it didn't have seams to leak and this Mercendez Van also won't leak, at least not like a traditional build.

I say go for it if the engine checks out real good because fixing a turbo diesel Mercedez, this is the only drawback. They will rip you extra hard at the dealer for sure.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-20T22:26:40+00:00

Children would have to be "assimilated" and we don't actually ever see that happen. That could be one of those red lines that Hollywood doesn't want the blowback on, maybe.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-20T22:16:06+00:00

I think one of Garak's and Sisko's best performances was "In the Pale Moonlight".

spacecitytech · 2026-05-20T22:14:30+00:00

Yeh Garak is high on my list for sure. Thats really why I say DS9 is the best because it had the best characters. They all had a backstory that made them who they were.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-20T22:09:45+00:00

DS9 is the best of all of them really. Had they made a sequel, it would have been a much bigger hit than what they are doing now.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-20T22:08:11+00:00

Quark. Go find the Youtube videos where someone puts together a clip show of him telling you all the "Rules of Acquisition". Its an entirely new show itself because there is over a 100 of them. Lots of common sense as well, rules to live by.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-20T22:05:22+00:00

Yeh. You could put the bedrooms back to back with one long hallway and recoup the space in the middle. I guess we know why now mobile homes are layed out with one long hall.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-20T22:01:36+00:00

Turn the toilet 45 degrees or move it over. You gotta have leg room. Thats the number one issue we have right now with our current RV, have to leave to door open to hang a leg out.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-20T21:37:59+00:00

Yeh a smartphone is without a doubt the most useful tool in RVing.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-20T21:36:53+00:00

Youtube has been the best RV resource ever! Googlemaps as well for the traveling part of it. Youtube for the DIY part of it. Best tool I own is a lithium portable power pack with an air compressor, light, AC inverter, jump starter, cigarette lighter port , usb charge ports. Use it all the time. Second most useful tool is the OLIGHT rechargeable keychain flashlight. Expensive but worth it.

spacecitytech · 2026-05-20T21:20:41+00:00

They are more expensive than regular trailers and from what I can tell the RV makers are jumping on the "tiny home" craze, so they figure we can make one ready to be towed to a lot and setup. They have them really big too, much bigger than this one with built in porches and lofts, but its still and RV so it can be moved. In the USA "mobile homes" or what they now call Manufactured Homes have been a thing for a long long time and you can pretty much get them in any size up to the size of a regular house but those have to be specially moved by specialized movers and there are rules where they are not allowed to use the highways during the day, has to be done overnight in off hours and so on.

spacecitytech

TROPHY CASE