I did my '97 Rodeo a couple of years ago. It was my first attempt at a timing belt replacement. I did my Jetta shortly afterward. Both the VW Jetta and the Rodeo have run well since I did them. I only had the Haynes for both of them. The toughest part of the job is getting the crank bolt off. You need one of the following 3 setups:
1) impact wrench on the crank bolt
2) wrenches and breaker bars on the pulley and the crank bolt and brute force or
3) breaker bar on the crank bolt and the bar resting on the driver's side of the frame and bump the starter (make sure you don't start the engine!).
I used #2 with the help of my daughter. On my Jetta I used #3 and it was very quick and easy!
Be sure to keep track of which timing belt cover bolts goes where - they are different. Set the engine to TDC and use the mark and match method (mark the belt and each pulley. Then take the belt off and mark the new belt the same way. Then put the new belt on lining up the marks with the marks you made on the pulley.) This really isn't a bad job, just time consuming. Are you changing the seals, too?