Airstream Travel

Airstream Travel: The Open Road Is Calling
By: Lisa Sherman

Every adventure seeker has a desire to travel to sights unseen and conquer the vast unknown. This is also true for the Airstream owner, past and present. When Byam first marketed his coveted trailers it was during the aftermath of the Great Depression, and to a consumer that was financially strapped. Their unique design, and affordability opened a whole new world to consumers that were longing to escape from the daily life.

The innovative mind if Byam developed more than a new style of travel trailer. He realized that the ability to discover the world around us should be accessible to virtually every individual. It was highly important to him that the average Airstream trailer could be pulled by almost any vehicle on the market. This made the product more desirable by the consumer, and thus made Airstream more profitable.

One of the main concepts that Byam wanted the public to understand is that they could go anywhere or do anything with their Airstream trailer. To help relay this concept, without spending fortunes on advertisement, he started conducting caravan tours. In 1951, he gathered a group together for the very 1st caravan.

This was a dynamic concept of marketing. The sight of a large group of Airstreams, moving together down the road was bound to draw the attention of thousands. Not only would spectators gather wherever they stopped, it would also give the opportunity for prospective buyers to tag along with friends and fall in love with Airstreams for themselves.

At a time when people were looking for affordable vacations, and eager to break free from routine life, it became a perfect fit. There was also another major function for these caravans. Byam used them for “on the road” testing so to speak. He has been documented as the kind of man that always strived for perfection. Old employees have written that during the caravans he would take specific notes and call reports back to the designers at the plant for future adjustments.

In 1955, the Wally Byam Caravan Club was founded. These caravans didn’t merely enjoy local highways, but also highways around the world. Byam wanted to show people that any dream vacation could be obtainable with their Airstream trailer. Tours in both Europe and Africa were established, and closer to home there were caravans to Canada, Mexico, and even the Central Americas.

With a lit passion to explore, the Wally Byam Caravan Club International grew and prospered even after their friend and travel partner had passed on. Currently, WBCCI has approximately twenty-five caravans planned for the upcoming year, and over forty-six rallies. These caravans travel all over the country, exploring every nuance that is out there to experience.

If group travel isn’t your cup of tea, there is nothing to stop you from loading up and heading out on your own. There are hundreds of RV parks throughout the United States, in about every place you can imagine. Currently there are even over twenty-four parks that are exclusively Airstream parks.

A highly recommended site for Airstream enthusiast everywhere is www.AirstreamTrailers.com. This site offers an enormous amount of information regarding Airstream Parks, Travel Checklists, and various odds and ends for the Airstream owner. For a detailed list of RV parks located throughout the United States a recommended site is E Campsite; www.ecampsite.com. This site offers everything needed for planning an upcoming RV vacation!

Today Airstreams can be found at the Smithsonian Institution and the Henry Ford Museum. The aircraft industry has recognized the work of Byam, and NASA has had a long history with Airstream. The very first astronauts were housed in Airstream trailers, and to this day, Airstream motorhomes are an important part of the shuttle program.

Airstreams are spotted everywhere from major tourist attractions, vintage car shows, and even upscale Hollywood studio lots. President John F. Kennedy even chose an Airstream as his mobile Presidential office. Without a doubt, the heart of Airstream is to travel and explore. To expand horizons and enjoy good fellowship.

Byam offered the American consumer so much more than a mere product. He masterfully connected the product to a dream. Coming out of the generation of the Great Depression, he knew first hand how a dream could keep a person viable. With the founding of WBCCI, he said these words; “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.”

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