Hello! Here it is April but I will repsond. I have a 1999 HD with the smaller engine. There is a bit of a difference but not "that" much. If I were to replace my Rialta I would go with the bigger engine. Also, as of 2000 the Generac generators were replaced with Onan units. The Onans are still available but the Generacs are really not. My Generac croaked days after I bought my Rialta. I purchased used in April 2010 and it had low miles around 32,000. After failed attemps to repair the Generac I found a good one someone removed from a wrecked Rialta. It has worked like a charm ever since and I do fire it up nearly every week without fail to keep it limber. But, you aksed about pros and cons. I could say to be patient with the rig. They are well built and the VW chassis is awesome. I had lots of quirks and bugs to work out and fix - the most being the Check Engine Light. As it turned out it was a good thing because it brought various problems to the surface which were no fault of the previous owner but just time and lack of use. Now that it is all ironed out it is a dream machine. I had all my work done at the VW dealer so there were no excuses.
Now that it is 2013 I would highly recommend staying 2002 and newer but get low miles. These units drive so well that people actually put high miles and that is why most units you find for sale have high miles. Luckily my owners were too busy to take it out and also lucky was that they stored it in their inside warehouse which kept it pristine. Hopefully you have found your Rilata by now so let us know!
Paul
We continue looking for 2002 or newer Rialta with the larger engine.
