I use it in text mode with just arrows and desk #. I have it set to bbvwmOnTop true. Sometimes it goes bye bye though, doesn't crash, it just dissapears. I have to recycle to get it back. Any suggestions? should I try a different VWM maybe???

Sorry that I can't help you with this, but I've never experienced this, and I've used bbvwm for several months now. Try visiting pika @ http://pika.shellscape.org and drop him a note/bugreport.