I sprung a leak last night.  Removed the spare tire, tightened the hose
clamp, added coolant, bled the radiator, added more coolant, put the spare
tire back.  Everything's fine, EXCEPT the hoses feel a little stretched,
soft, pliable, "well broken in".  The vanagon has 180K+ miles, and almost
10 years on its hoses.
So I went to http://www.busdepot.com to look into replacing them.  The
vanagons got LOTS of hoses,  at approximately $50 each.   I wasn't brave
enough to add them up, but I estimate at $500 to $750!

IS THERE ANYONE  WHO HAS TRIED USING REINFORCED RUBBER HOSE-BY-THE_FOOT
instead of molded hoses?  I'm thinking about not replacing them all (until
they split), and I'd like to carry some non-molded hose, anti-freeze, duct
tape, and extra clamps in case I need them some cold winter's night in the
middle of nowhere.  I was wondering if there was anyone as "THRIFTY" as
myself out there who could tell me what inside diameter of generic rubber
heater hose to pack in my "emergency kit".