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Wallace Merle Byam, Airstream’s founder, was practically
born a traveler. As a young child he traveled extensively with his grandfather,
who led a mule train in Baker, Oregon. Later, as an adolescent, he was
a shepherd, living in a two-wheeled donkey cart outfitted with a kerosene
cookstove, a sleeping bag, and wash pail. These early experiences undoubtedly
contributed to the direction his life would eventually take.
 As
a young man, Wally signed on with the merchant marines, graduated Stanford
University’s Law School in 1923, owned an advertising agency, and
became a magazine publisher. A do-it-yourself magazine he published featured
an article describing how to build a travel trailer. When readers began
complaining about the plans, Wally tried them out for himself. Indeed,
the plans turned out to be flawed.
Wally’s innovative spirit drove him to build his own model. While
he considered it primitive, his design forever changed the history of
travel trailers. By dropping the floor down between the wheels and raising
the ceiling height, the revolutionary design made it possible for campers
to stand up straight when inside the trailer. Wally wrote an article describing
how to build his trailer for under $100 — this time drawing an enthusiastic
response from his readers.
During the late 1920’s, Americans were beginning to take to the
roads in greater and greater numbers. Wally’s new trailer was a
perfect match for the new mobile lifestyle. Wally began making a living
selling sets of plans for five dollars each, complete trailer kits, and
finished trailers he built in his Los Angeles backyard. The fledgling
business survived the crash of 1929, and by 1930 he had abandoned law,
advertising, and publishing to become a full-time builder of travel trailers.
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