[Doug Musick]

I have a hydraulic hose leaking where the metal fitting is connected to the rubber.  I believe it is my power steering supply line, but it's been raining for three days here so I haven't crawled under to trace yet.  The leak is where the hose connects to a small box which is attached to the left rear support member right behind the rear engine access panel.  The hose runs forward from the box up past the transmission but that is as far as I can see from the engine bay.  There is also a hose to the fan motor and a hose to the hydraulic pump attached to the box, along with what appears to be an electrically operated valve.

My question is should I replace the entire hose or just cut some of the end off and add a pig tail to reconnect?

Variables to consider:
[ul]
[li]my coach is 26 years old, and so likely is this hose[/li]
[li]I've only had the coach 2 weeks and I am in the process of zeroing out some items, so replacing the entire hose proactively doesn't bother me if recommended.[/li]
[/ul]

I don't have much experience with hydraulic hoses, so I'm not sure what an average life expectancy is before they start failing.  If it was a short and easy to get at hose I wouldn't be asking, but before I start removing and pulling a new @ 50' hose which will likely involve my full vocabulary I'd like to hear from some of you.