When I was a kid our Fan TT was all propane. The frig, stove were gas and it was equipped with a lamp with mantles like a Coleman lantern. Do they still make trailers equipped this way or are they just wired for electric appliances? Pardon my ignorance.
All propane trailer
- Thread starter eightwt
- Start date
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Great Horned Owl
Well-known member
Perhaps, by not quire as prominent as previously, I believe the majority of RVs today have gas refrigerators, stoves, furnaces, and water heaters, I am not aware of any that have gas lighting. Almost all have 12 vdc, lighting. Most (if not all) manufacturers are now using LED lighting.
Old_Crow
Well-known member
I had a '72 Scotty HiLander that had the propane lantern. That's the latest model trailer I ever saw with one.
My dad also had an Aristocrat trailer in the 60's that had one.
My dad also had an Aristocrat trailer in the 60's that had one.
When I was a kid most TT had gas lights. They were considered unsafe because in those days parents let the kids ride in the camper. Or forgot to turn the lights off before driving. We liked them because they put out more light than electric. The fridge was gas and the furnace didn't have a blower so it didn't even have a coach battery. Forget solar cells and generators. Stayed 2 weeks on a tank of propane.
It's amazing there are still states (Minnesota does as of 2022) that allow riding in travel trailers that have absolutely no occupant protection at all in a crash
NY_Dutch
Well-known member
Years ago I converted the gas lamp fixtures in about half a dozen TT's to 12 volts for folks that didn't want the gas mantles and the noise, but wanted to retain the "look". A local RV deal called me whenever he had a customer for the mod. I haven't seen a gas lamp equipped TT in years though.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
You can still buy LP gas lanterns, though, so just get a couple and leave the 12v light switches off. They thread onto the little 1 lb disposable LP bottles. I have one in my home emergency (aka hurricane) supplies.
DutchmenSport
Well-known member
When I was 8 years old, my parents purchased a 1963 Phoenix Travel Trailer new. We traveled all over the USA with that set up.
That trailer had the gas light you are talking about. I remember my dad replacing the mantel (only 1 in ours) after traveling because they broke so easy after they were lit.
Also, I remember climbing up to the light (not burning of course) and touching the mantel and watching it fall apart. My dad caught me doing that one time and I think ... to this day ... I still have red hand prints on my Southern exposure! (but I haven't looked in a mirror for some time now! But, after 60 years, I can still feel the heat! ... not from the light ... from his hand!)
That camper was definitely nothing like todays campers. It had a galvanized steal water tank that was pressurized by pumping it up with a bicycle tire pump. Oh, how I remember pumping that bicycle pump! And all the plumbing was copper.
It had a 4 burner propane stove (no oven). And the furnace was gas as well. The furnace did not have any blowers or electronics on it. It was all radiant heat.
The refrigerator was gas only too. I remember it worked very well, but we always had a cooler too.
It did have a toilet, but we were never allowed to use it. It did not have a shower, if it did, we were never allowed to use it either. I'm pretty sure the bathroom was NOT a wet bath, because I do clearly remember the walls being just like the rest of the camper.
Dad eventually removed the toilet completely and covered the hole in the floor. It because a storage closet. I remember that's where the lawn chairs were put when we traveled.
It didn't have a master bed, but it did have a couch that pulled out, the back rest cushions were laid down and it turned into a bed. The dinette folded down and became a bed, and it had a canvas cot that could be hung above the couch that could sleep 2 small kids. I always wanted to try it, but my parents would never let me. They kept saying it was unsafe. (go figure).
I slept in the over hang, my 2 sisters slip on the dinette, and my parents slept on the pull out couch.
The awning had to be inserted into the track above the door and then 2 long aluminum tent poles with ropes held the awning up.
I remember dad had weight distribution bars, he did teach me what that was all about.
I remember riding in the trailer, laying on the front seat between Mom and Dad, and listening to my sister's paranoia complaining about the camper breaking free of the hitch and come smashing into the back of the car and crushing everyone inside! (OK, she was a bit morbid, I agree!)
For being only 18 feet long, it crammed a lot of fun. My only regret is, I didn't pay attention more to what was going on with the logistics of that camper. I was too busy playing.
Would I want another one like it? Um ... no. However, one advantage it did have, because there were no electronics in the camper, no converters, no battery, no nothing, all you had to do was plug into a 15 amp wall socket to power the electricity. There were a couple plugs in it, and it did have very low voltage electric lights on each side of the dinette and each end of the couch. I suppose electricity was required to run a toaster.
That trailer had the gas light you are talking about. I remember my dad replacing the mantel (only 1 in ours) after traveling because they broke so easy after they were lit.
Also, I remember climbing up to the light (not burning of course) and touching the mantel and watching it fall apart. My dad caught me doing that one time and I think ... to this day ... I still have red hand prints on my Southern exposure! (but I haven't looked in a mirror for some time now! But, after 60 years, I can still feel the heat! ... not from the light ... from his hand!)
That camper was definitely nothing like todays campers. It had a galvanized steal water tank that was pressurized by pumping it up with a bicycle tire pump. Oh, how I remember pumping that bicycle pump! And all the plumbing was copper.
It had a 4 burner propane stove (no oven). And the furnace was gas as well. The furnace did not have any blowers or electronics on it. It was all radiant heat.
The refrigerator was gas only too. I remember it worked very well, but we always had a cooler too.
It did have a toilet, but we were never allowed to use it. It did not have a shower, if it did, we were never allowed to use it either. I'm pretty sure the bathroom was NOT a wet bath, because I do clearly remember the walls being just like the rest of the camper.
Dad eventually removed the toilet completely and covered the hole in the floor. It because a storage closet. I remember that's where the lawn chairs were put when we traveled.
It didn't have a master bed, but it did have a couch that pulled out, the back rest cushions were laid down and it turned into a bed. The dinette folded down and became a bed, and it had a canvas cot that could be hung above the couch that could sleep 2 small kids. I always wanted to try it, but my parents would never let me. They kept saying it was unsafe. (go figure).
I slept in the over hang, my 2 sisters slip on the dinette, and my parents slept on the pull out couch.
The awning had to be inserted into the track above the door and then 2 long aluminum tent poles with ropes held the awning up.
I remember dad had weight distribution bars, he did teach me what that was all about.
I remember riding in the trailer, laying on the front seat between Mom and Dad, and listening to my sister's paranoia complaining about the camper breaking free of the hitch and come smashing into the back of the car and crushing everyone inside! (OK, she was a bit morbid, I agree!)
For being only 18 feet long, it crammed a lot of fun. My only regret is, I didn't pay attention more to what was going on with the logistics of that camper. I was too busy playing.
Would I want another one like it? Um ... no. However, one advantage it did have, because there were no electronics in the camper, no converters, no battery, no nothing, all you had to do was plug into a 15 amp wall socket to power the electricity. There were a couple plugs in it, and it did have very low voltage electric lights on each side of the dinette and each end of the couch. I suppose electricity was required to run a toaster.
NY_Dutch
Well-known member
I used to have a couple of those, but finally gave them away in favor of LED lanterns. I get ribbed occasionally about one of them because it has a solar panel on top of it.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
I have both. Rechargeable is good, but sometimes you can't recharge. I even have a small led lantern that uses D cells, just in case. Semper paratus!
NY_Dutch
Well-known member
Yep, my non-solar light came with rechargeable AA batteries installed, and it only takes a minute to replace them with standard AA's if needed. That assumes you have the batteries on hand of course. Something like making sure you have enough LP canisters on hand.
Perhaps you might want to consider an oil/kerosene lamp that uses a mantle? I have an Aladdin table lamp that I got in 1982 when we lived in an area where we lost power several times a year. The thing is like turning on a 60watt light bulb. The glass lamp shade helps with the glare but it still lights up a good sized room. You can buy them in hanging and wall mount styles as well. My ashed mantle (already burnt) actually has traveled pretty well. My lamp uses the Lox-on mantle. I keep extras on hand in my cedar chest. I haven't used my lamp in a while. The dog has a whip for a tail and she almost knocked the lamp off the table it used to sit on. So now it's taken apart and stored in my cedar chest. I keep waiting for her to outgrow her "puppy" excitement. I beginning to th
ink that won't happen as she is almost 8yo.
ink that won't happen as she is almost 8yo.
