Hmmmmmm....... .  Wouldn't it be better to find that a new hose or whatever is defective before getting out some extended distance from home and needing it?  Someone else said to replace, and then carry spares.  I agree that that is an approach that should make one a little safer than only replacing or only carrying spares.  But with the hoses -- which ones to carry?

I followed Larry's advice on Roadhaus, and replaced all the hoses on my van.  I also replaced all the fuel lines.  That was two years ago.  Not being an expert mechanic (not even being an inexpert mechanic), and not having prescience, I have no idea what individual hose is going to fail unexpectedly.  so, i want reasonably good ones in place before I strike out to somewhere where I might be stuck.

But this business of carrying spares for things can go on ad infinitum.

mcneely
---- craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> I sincerely disagree with the idea of replacing massive amounts of parts
> right before a trip. I'd much rather carry the new ones with me and run on
> the old ones.
> Reliability is EARNED, not purchased.
>
> I've seen far to many parts come defective from new, or be installed with a
> simple mistake such as forgetting to tighten the hose clamp which results in
> serious problems. I would definitely carry an assortment of hose clamps up
> to 10'' (Ever have a muffler fall off?) as well as various pieces of regular
> hose and splices. I've more than once fixed a coolant issue with pieces I
> had on hand and filled up with whatever was available.
> I've run my WBX on Gatorade, River Water, and Green Tea before.
> As well as pieces of copper pipe, vaccuum cleaner hose, and self fusing
> tape.
>
> Be weary of "FIXING" something right before you leave.
>
> -Craig
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 25, 2011 at 12:33 PM, Don Hanson <dhanson928@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Thu, Aug 25, 2011 at 8:45 AM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Hmmm. Wouldn't it be better to replace them in the driveway and not have
> > to
> > > think about it at all?
> > >
> > > Jim
> > >
> > >   Statistically significant is the number of times I have 'fixed'
> > something  before it broke only to have my "fix" cause me problems that I
> > didn't have before I fixed it.
> >
> >  I am not a sloppy mechanic...I usually take my time and try to do
> > everything correctly.  However, over the years, I have come to believe
> > (within reason) that 'leave well enough alone' or "if it ain't broke, don't
> > fix it" those old sayings have merit.
> >  Sure, if you look at all the hoses in your vanagon and see bad looking
> > cracks, bubbles, splits, etc and rusty clamps hanging....you may be better
> > off doing some pre-emptive replacement at home in the comfort of your own
> > area....Then again, you might break a plastic pipe, miss-install a clamp or
> > something.....and that sucks if it was working, however bad it looked....
> >
> >  I have a cool T-shirt..."I do not intend to tip-toe carefully through
> > Life, only to arrive safely at Death"
> >
> >  I go for it, with a big bag of parts...and sometimes I don't have the
> > right ones when something lets go, but so what?  I make do...
> >

--
David McNeely