Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Jayco RV Owners Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 01-21-2021, 03:47 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
THE MEEKER's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Western New York
Posts: 605
Lighting up the Night with Coleman

It was Christmas 1970. I was 8 years old. Santa gifted me my first Coleman Lantern. It was a single mantle & white fuel. I still have it today and it's in good working order. The first birthday gift my wife gave me was a dual mantle/dual fuel Coleman Lantern in 1985. Again I still have it and it works like a charm. I still use these lanterns on our camping trips.

Over the years I’ve collected dozens of Coleman Lanterns, most I picked up at garage sales and flea markets. Just about all of them are pre-1975 models. The earliest one I have was made in 1940. All except for a few are in working order. There are two lanterns that I converted to electric and have them in my mancave.

Anyone else have a love affair with Coleman Lanterns? I would love to read your stories and memories about them.

I also have about a dozen Coleman Stoves as well, but I’ll post my stories about those later.
__________________
2015 Jayco Jayflight 27RLS
2012 Ford F-150
2001 Fleetwood Terry 28x
1996 Viking Pop-up
1979 Coleman 8 man cabin tent
1967 G.I Joe (hasbro) canvas pup tent
THE MEEKER is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 04:08 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 7,381
There's a guy called Turbs on the Forest River Owners Forum that has a passion for restoring them. Also I've been in Jerry's Campers outside Madison WI that has a slew of restored and original condition ones on display in their dealership. I have a double mantle one from the 70's in the garage that SIL wants to work on and use. I remember my dad using white gas in ours when I was a kid.
wiscampsin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 05:59 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Nashville
Posts: 636
There is something about the sound and smell. However, breakable globes and fragile burner thingamajigs make it hard for me to justify transport.
crockettlarry is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 07:10 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Southern Indiana
Posts: 3,198
I have one that I bought in the mid 70's that works just fine and still in it's original box. Even have a set of spare mantles. It still has the aluminum foil that I lined the glass with to direct the light. Great for catfishing. Every time I go camping, I use a circa 1961 Coleman white gas 2 burner stove my dad gave me years ago. Did a complete restoration on it last year.
__________________
2012 Eagle 320 RLDS
2017 Ford F-250 FX4 Crew STX 6.2l
3.73 E-locker
TCNashville is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 08:50 PM   #5
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Massillon
Posts: 23
Love my Coleman’s! One of the few things you can still pass down to the next generation. Got my first one as a teenager for night fishing! Some 30 plus years later - works like a charm. Also have a duel fuel from late 90s and an older 200A. Have carried them all through the woods tracking deer after dark, night fishing along the river and camping!
Kwarstler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 09:01 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Murff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: State of Confusion
Posts: 5,004
Interesting thread.

I am a fellow collector, Mr. Meeker. Also, a member of the International Coleman Collector Club, host to two annual get togethers here in the PNW And I even administrate the Coleman Collectors Forum. I have been doing this since about 2000.

As much as I love restoring Coleman lanterns to original, I also make a few "Frankenlanterns". I sell on eBay and have kept my sanity during Covid by doing this.

The first two lanterns are Frankenlanterns. The Sears blue and black is a restoration to original.

Murff
Attached Thumbnails
IMG_0042.jpg   IMG_0077.jpg   IMG_0183.jpg  
__________________
Murff

2015 White Hawk 20MRB (It's last year)
2017 F150 2.7 Eco Boost 3.73 Gears

Murff is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2021, 04:50 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
edatlanta's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Maplesville - Home Base
Posts: 3,059
Here is an interesting link to some Coleman info. To me the most interesting is this clip from the article:

In 1905, the Coleman lantern successfully lighted the first football game played at night on a regulation gridiron - a game between Cooper College and Fairmount College (now Wichita State University).

I lived in Wichita, Kansas years ago and the Coleman Company was one of my customers. That is where I heard about the football game lighting in 1905.

https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-19...445-story.html
__________________
Ed
KM4STL

2006 GMC 2500HD CCSB 4x4 Duramax/Allison, Titan 52 gallon fuel tank, Prodigy Controller, B&W Companion Hitch
2010 Jayco Designer 35RLTS, Cummins/Onan RV QG 5500 EVAP, Progressive Industries EMS-PT50X, TST Systems 507 TPMS, RV Flex Armor Roof
edatlanta is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2021, 07:24 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
mokurt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Hollister
Posts: 517
I have always liked and used the lanterns and stoves since the sixties when my parents had them.
I still have a red single mantel lantern my parents bought.

I have about 8 lanterns, one heater and five stoves including one Sears.
Earliest stove I have is a 425B.

It takes some work to light them and to maintain them but it is worth it.
__________________
2019 248RSBW
mokurt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2021, 10:54 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
KCSA75's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 4,282
To make a long story short, I'd always wanted a Coleman lantern but couldn't afford one when I was younger, then too cheap to cough up the cash when I could. Flash forward about 40 years, I bought a 220K for $10 off Craigslist. It was in great shape, but wouldn't run. My good friend Google led me to the CCF for help and I got bitten by the bug.

I have too much stuff already so I've tried my best to resist the urge to acquire a bunch of lanterns. Having said that, I have nine lanterns include two single-mantle Kamplites that run like sewing machines but sound like jet engines when running. I would like to have a single-mantle Sears like the one Murff posted above but every one I find the owner thinks it's made of gold.
Attached Thumbnails
20201219_163548.jpg  
__________________
Willie
1998 Jayco Eagle 12 UDK
2008 Keystone Cougar 29FKS

Poking at a campfire with a stick is one of life's great satisfactions.

KCSA75 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2021, 12:27 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
LuckyDuck's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Nor Cal
Posts: 3,081
Camping as a kid, every trip included our Coleman stove and lantern that ran on white gas. I have fond memories (for me, Dad not so much) of him pumping madly and not getting the stove to light. And it seemed you couldn’t breathe around the lantern without those fragile mantles crumbling into ashes. But they did the job well when everything worked. When DW and I were young and first camping, we, too, had those lanterns, powered by propane. Then it was batteries and LEDs. Now it’s the light strip on the TT awning . Thanks for the memories!
__________________
2018 JayFlight SLX 212QBW
1999 Ford F-250 Super Duty Lariat SC, 7.3L PSD, 3.73
Transfer Flow 50 gal aux; Andersen WDH; Prodigy P2
😁 "If a man says he’ll fix something, he will. There’s no need to remind him every 6 months.
LuckyDuck is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2021, 12:35 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
deepsea5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Maine
Posts: 504
Growing up, my next door neighbor was a civilian worker for the local Army Reserve center. Back in the late '60s he gave my father a "multi-fuel" lantern that could burn just about any liquid fuel (kerosene, diesel, Jet A/JP4 &5, gasoline and possibly even alcohol). That was a cool light. It was destroyed when a massive pine tree came down on my parents shed. Bummer. Would love to find another one (without having to mortgage the house).
__________________
2020 Jayco JayFlight SLX 175RD
2016 Toyota Tundra XSP-X 4X4
Redarc Tow Pro Elite brake controller
Fastway E2 Trunnion WDH
deepsea5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2021, 01:33 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
Jagiven's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 9,728
I have never been a big lantern person. I like very dim light at night. prefer to be able to watch the stars. Just need enough light to see what I am doing safely. I think I have 3. I tend to use my small backpacking lantern a few times a year with the scouts.

However, stoves are my issue, backpacking style in particular. I have a few Colman's some dating back probably to the 50's, I don't think I have any older, but I might, I have never tried to date them. My favorite stoves are my 3 Svea's. All have the same stove assembly, but each have a different pot holding configuration, Two include pots, everything is interchangeable. Sounds like a rocket engine.

I would guess I have about 20 backpacking stoves that date back from the 50's to the newest (I bought as a returned item) in the 80's. I use to backpack a lot, and people tended to give them to me. I have only ever bought that one stove. My DW came with a Coleman dual fuel backpacking stove , bonus package
__________________

2012 Jayco X23B
2020 Ram Laramie 3500 SRW Air ride 50Gal fuel tank.
2007 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab (sold)
Equal-I-zer 4-Point Sway Control
Jagiven is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2021, 03:36 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
KCSA75's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 4,282
Posting this photo from the weekend just because...
Attached Thumbnails
rsz_20210227_180249[1].jpg  
__________________
Willie
1998 Jayco Eagle 12 UDK
2008 Keystone Cougar 29FKS

Poking at a campfire with a stick is one of life's great satisfactions.

KCSA75 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2021, 06:39 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
JDug66's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Central Ohio
Posts: 193
Fumes & fragile

Quote:
Originally Posted by LuckyDuck View Post
Camping as a kid, every trip included our Coleman stove and lantern that ran on white gas. I have fond memories (for me, Dad not so much) of him pumping madly and not getting the stove to light. And it seemed you couldn’t breathe around the lantern without those fragile mantles crumbling into ashes. But they did the job well when everything worked. When DW and I were young and first camping, we, too, had those lanterns, powered by propane. Then it was batteries and LEDs. Now it’s the light strip on the TT awning . Thanks for the memories!

I do remember my Dad pumping madly on that lantern, little metal knob on a stick, wailing away on it! Quickly going for the matches before the prime was lost. Yes the white hot fragile two bagged net. It did seemed to "crumble". The fumes of that white gas and the hissing. Certainly was the brightest thing in the distance I could see on my back from the outhouse.
JDug66 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2021, 07:02 PM   #15
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Evansville
Posts: 11
I enjoyed reading these. Thank you all for posting.
Kykev is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-05-2021, 01:16 AM   #16
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Twin Falls
Posts: 930
I have 2 Coleman lanterns and 2 Coleman gas stoves, all run off white gas, I absolutely love them and use them all the time, the lanterns are perfect for creating the right amount of light for the campsite, whether that is bright or a very dim, they are so accommodating for my needs. I hang one on each end of my awning. I can usually get a couple years out of the mantles before I have to replace them, they travel well in the front storage area of my trailer.

I’m not fond of a lot of exterior trailer lights, and especially do not want the long LED strip under the awning, a lot of people like them, it’s just not my thing.
__________________

2011 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins
2012 Starcraft Autumn Ridge 297 BHS
Flyrotor is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jayco, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:06 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2002-2016 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.