From a Dream to a Way of Life
The Airstream brand is rich with history and a following that dates all the way back to 1929. Find out how Wally Byam turned an adventurous spirit into an American icon, and how the Airstream brand continues to be a catalyst for people all over the world to live their dreams on the open road.
History
1920s
The First Airstream
Airstream’s first ride was in 1929, but really Airstream was born the first time Wally Byam left home. Wally’s early life – schooling, sailing, camping, and working – all came together to form a vision of the open road, the outdoors, and freedom. That vision was realized in a tent on a Model T chassis. It was realized in a boy working to pay for his school. It was realized when Wally Byam built that first trailer, and it’s still alive today.
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History
1930s
From Hobby to Business
As the 1930s dawned, interest in Wally Byam’s early trailer designs was growing. So much so, in fact, that he couldn’t handle the demand on his own from his yard anymore, or by sending five-dollar manuals around the country. People had seen the first Airstreams, and they wanted to get on-board. A factory would open. A trailer would debut. But then a Great Depression would jeopardize everything.
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History
1940s
The War Years
Airstream survived the Depression. World War II would be another challenge. Factories closed, and Wally Byam and others joined the war effort. But after the fighting stopped, Airstream was back, and soon better than ever. And as the company grew, Wally would have a chance to get on the road, battle-test his trailers – and plant the seed of a caravan revolution.
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History
1950s
Necessity is the Mother of Invention
In the 1950s, Airstream went through a lot of changes, and mostly for the good. The old factory was outgrown. Wally Byam led a caravan of trailerites outside American borders for the first time. Innovation continued, inside the company and out. By decade’s end, in a lot of ways Airstream had made the leap from being a travel trailer company to being a movement and a culture that was shared by thousands.
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History
1960s
A Legend Passes
For the first three decades of its existence – and maybe even longer – Airstream and Wally Byam were synonymous. But the 1960s changed that. Wally passed away, and Airstream no longer had its founder and leader. There would be turmoil and there would be change, but nobody should be surprised that the company and the idea that Wally devoted his adult life to was grand enough and strong enough to live on.
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History
1970s
Expanding Once Again
With a recession and a gas crisis, the 1970s weren’t a great decade for the auto industry as a whole, let alone travel trailers and Airstream. Driving for fun wasn’t on the table for many people. And that brought change to Airstream. For the first time in the company’s history, it left California – and for good. New products were introduced, unlike anything Airstream had done before. But even in a time of flux, with change everywhere, what remained was undeniably Airstream.
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History
1980s
Becoming an Icon
Since Wally Byam’s death, Airstream had gone through periods of great prosperity and periods of great hardship. But in the 1980s, Airstream found stable footing once again. New ownership came in, and ushered in an era of success that continues to this day. And with the silver bullet trailer gaining retro icon status, we were able to keep the old with the new.
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History
1990s
The Old Becomes New
Airstream is a company that spans eras – we appreciate our history very much, as you can see, but we also look forward whenever possible. In the 1990s, we embodied that generational bridge. New efforts were started to honor and preserve Airstream’s greatest historical resource, the trailers themselves. And with more products and updated designs, a whole new generation of Airstreamers could get on the road in style.
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History
2000s
Growing the Family
We’re very proud of what’s come before us, in the near-century Airstream trailers have been on the road. In the past ten years we’ve seen the Wally Byam Caravan Club International and Airstream itself pass major milestones, and we hope to see many more. That’s why we’re also always looking forward to the future, and trying to develop new, better trailers and other products so that Airstreamers can always enjoy the open road in comfort and without worry.
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Wally's Creed
In the heart of these words is an entire life’s dream. To those of you who find in the promise of these words your promise, I bequeath this creed…my dream belongs to you.
To place the great wide world at your doorstep for you who yearn to travel with all the comforts of home.
To provide a more satisfying, meaningful way of travel that offers complete travel independence, wherever and whenever you choose to go or stay.
To keep alive and make real an enduring promise of high adventure and faraway lands… of rediscovering old places and new interests.
To open a whole world of new experiences… a new dimension in enjoyment where travel adventure and good fellowship are your constant companions.
To encourage clubs and rallies that provide an endless source of friendships, travel, fun and personal expressions.
To lead caravans wherever the four winds blow… over twinkling boulevards, across trackless deserts… to the traveled and untraveled corners of the earth.
To play some part in promoting international goodwill and understanding among the peoples of the world through person-to-person contact.
To refine and perfect our product by continuous travel-testing over the highways and byways of the world.
To strive endlessly to stir the venturesome spirit that moves you to follow a rainbow to its end… and thus make your travel dreams come true.
—Wally Byam