Charlie hating on my Vista again!
I have a 5 window Vista. I like it a lot. I've put nearly 30k miles on it since I bought it almost exactly one year ago.
Every bus has trade-offs. My Vista is easier to work on than a cutaway van, but you don't have the engine access you would with a full dog nose. THe work I've had to do on mine has been straightforward enough, I've replaced AC compressors, the alternator, and the glow plug relay, and the engine configuration was not a factor for any of these. The only time it's a pain is that you have to fill the oil from inside the bus.
The ride has only been annoying in Louisiana. I don't know why their roads are so messed up, they just are.
In the end I wouldn't consider the Vista better or worse than other options, it's just a different combination of the same parts you would get elsewhere. There are a lot of 3800 buses around and relatively few 3600 Vistas.
I've documented my experiences and journey here:
http://www.skoolie.net/forums/f27/sp...bus-17338.html