I dont think i would of went with the drop downs after hearing everyone give weird oppinions about them. i think you may have a harder time getting your snake in with the drop down than you would with out it because your whole front of the tank will be open where i can only open half of mine.
as far as the rhp i wouldnt go another route. this is the first time using them and they are crazy awesome. i have had it up and running since saturday and havent had to worry about humidity at all.
the probe is glued to the log under the rhp. i drilled a hole in the side of the tank and ran it that way.
here are some pics
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps2cff19d5.jpg
here you can see it is about 6 inches from the RHP
and here is the probe.
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps77c0e368.jpg