Wally Byam

Wallace Merle "Wally" Byam, (1896-1962) was one of the pioneer manufacturers of the travel trailer. He founded the company, Airstream Inc. From the 1930s until his death in 1962, Byam was a leader in developing both a romance and enthusiasm associated with the automobile and recreational vehicle culture as well as product features as the United States became increasingly focused on highways and automobile travel.

Byam was born July 4, 1896 in Baker City, Oregon. As a young child he traveled extensively with his grandfather, who led a mule train in Baker, Oregon. Later, as an adolescent, Byam worked as a shepherd. He lived in a two-wheeled shepherd's cart outfitted with a kerosene cook stove, a sleeping bag, and wash pail.

By the age of three Wally's parents had divorced. She then married David Davis, a butcher. By 1910 the family had moved to Astoria, OR. Prior to leaving Astoria Wally took the name of his stepfather. It was under this name, Wallace M Davis, he registered at Stanford University. Wally graduated from Stanford in 1921 with a BA in History.

In his early years, Byam signed on with the merchant marines. He married his first wife, Marion James, with whom he 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 complained about the plans, Byam tried them out for himself. Indeed, he discovered the plans were flawed.

Byam was thus inspired to build his own travel trailer. While he considered his first attempt primitive, the design profoundly influenced the evolution of travel trailers. By dropping the floor down between the wheels and raising the ceiling height, his design made it possible for occupants to stand straight upright when inside the trailer. Byam wrote an article describing how to build his trailer for under $100 - this time drawing an enthusiastic response from his readers.

During the late 1920s, Americans were beginning to take to the roads in greater and greater numbers. Byam's new trailer was a perfect match for the increasingly popular mobile lifestyle. Byam thus began selling sets of his plans for five dollars each. He also sold complete trailer kits, and finished trailers he built in his Los Angeles backyard. His fledgling business survived the crash of 1929. By 1930 he had abandoned advertising and publishing to become a full-time builder of Masonite travel trailers. The Airstream Company was incorporated in 1931.

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