I use sidebar with vbadvanced. I do not use the left template in vbadvanced (technically I do for the homepage)
BRISKODA - Skoda forum.
What you see is a customised front page flicked on a conditional in the adv_portal. Sidebar hack is present throughout the site again working heavily on conditionals.
The homepage does have the left column active(latest topics), but this time it's the right hand one and is next to the default right hand column(stats etc).
The centre columns (news) appear on the left (all relative to sidebar).
I just duplicated the php module src (*changed the eval template code) with a template duplication/edititng to suit, although not all done yet.
But shows Sidebar integrating well IMHO with vb3.0.3 and vbadvanced + a few other packages. I prefer it to using the vbadvanced suggested inegration as it's far less editing and manipulation. Sidebar is the classic keeping it simple excellence.