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Old 01-05-2003, 06:29 PM   #1
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1954 15' Byam Holiday
1955 15' Byam Holiday
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Wally Byam's Holiday

I am looking at a Wally Byam's Holiday camper. I don't know how old it is or anything about it and I can't find any information about it anywhere. Can you point me in the right direction? It doesn't say Airstream anywhere but has a picture of Wally Byam on the name plate.
many thanks
lanny Webb
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Old 01-05-2003, 07:45 PM   #2
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Talking ??

We'd like to look too.
Where exactly are you looking?
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Old 01-05-2003, 09:04 PM   #3
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Hey Hex, I live in Georgia. I love the camper and will enjoy putting it back in shape. I will post pictures as I go if anyone is interested. I was just looking for any information about when it was made and what it would be worth. Any ideas?
Lanny
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Old 01-06-2003, 05:16 AM   #4
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Hey Lanny,

We would enjoy seeing pics as you restore this trailer.

You may want to try www.vintageairsteam.com I'm not a "vintage" person, but this site seems to have some great information/history.

John
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Old 01-06-2003, 06:54 AM   #5
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Wally Byam's Holiday

Greetings Lanny!

I can't say that I have heard of a "Wally Byam's Holiday Camper" on any of the Vintage Airstream related lists nor have I seen any identified as such at the various Vintage Airstream Club activities that I have attended.

Four bits of data might help in identifying the coach:

1.) Is it of rivited aluminum construction similar to the well-known classic Airstream design? Even if it isn't, it could be a very early Airstream from the days when Wally Byam was selling plans and/or kits that individuals could build (1930s). Some of the early factory trailers were of materials other than aluminum (pre-WWII).

2.) Is all, or a portion of the trailer, gold anodized aluminum? In the early 1960s, there were a few 22' tandem axle airstreams built with gold anodized features and were called "World Travelers" if my memory for the discussion of the topic is correct.

3.) It there any plant identification on the plate with Wally Byam's picture? Typically one of the i.d. plates will have plant of origin information as well as the serial number which could also help to identify the trailer.

4.) Does the trailer have a central "tube" frame (identified by a round steel tube visible at the center of the coach both front and rear) or a "channel" steel frame (rectangular/square steel members visible at hitch and rear bumper? The tube frame would identify the rig as being built prior to the early 1950s.

It is possible that the coach could be a custom unit produced during an era when many Airstreams were built to specific custom order for customers (1950s and before).

Good luck in determining the identity of the trailer.

Kevin
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Old 01-06-2003, 06:37 PM   #6
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Thanks Kevin,
It must be a fifties because the frame is square tube construction. It was built in Jackson Center, Ohio. Serial number #1094. Here is a picture.
Lanny
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Old 01-06-2003, 06:53 PM   #7
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Unknown

Maybe it means that old "Wally was on Holiday" when they made this one, doesn't resemble anything I've seen as far as Airstreams go. I wonder if there were a lot of manufacturer's in Jackson Center in the old days??

Any ideas?

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Old 01-06-2003, 07:00 PM   #8
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Chas,
Here is a picture of the plate.
Lanny
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Old 01-06-2003, 07:02 PM   #9
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Holiday?

Hi Lanny, welcome. Anyway to post a picture of the nameplate with Wally's picture on it? This would really help to identify this rig.

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Old 01-06-2003, 07:04 PM   #10
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Well see if this comes through.
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Old 01-06-2003, 07:09 PM   #11
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It did come through. I think you have a rare trailer there. Does it belong to you or are you thinking of purchasing it? What's the interior arrangement and condition? Appliances present? We want to know all about this unknown bit of A/S history.

Brad
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Old 01-06-2003, 07:26 PM   #12
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We received a book for Christmas called Airstream History of the Land Yacht.

In it are many vintage photos of trailers that were built from plans prior the the start of maufacturing in 1936. These trailers are flat sided and look very much like the typical "Canned ham" trailers of the 50s, even though they were built in the late 20s and early 30s.

The plaque is interesting, I am aware that there were one off test trailers built at diffrent times in Airstream history, I wonder if this is one. Another one I am aware of is an all fiberglass model form the early 60s when they were tryng new materials. It is in a boneyard somewhere in Arizona I think.
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Old 01-06-2003, 07:36 PM   #13
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Lanny,

A thought: call the factory and give them your serial # and see if they have a record on this cool trailer.

You may at least find out the manuf date.

John
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Old 01-06-2003, 07:43 PM   #14
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Brad,
I discovered the trailer last Saturday. I put down a deposit and am negotiating the final price. He wants $1500 but make take a couple of guns in trade. I have no idea wether its a good price or not. Its in relatively good shape for an old trailer. The floor is rotten in back but the tin looks good all around except for a few very minor blemishes. The door frame is bent but the original screen door is still in place. There is an ice box, range and oven. The table drops down to make the bed and there is a small bathroom with a small toilet. I'd guess its 16'.
Lanny
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Old 01-17-2003, 09:08 AM   #15
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update

Lanny,

Did you buy/trade for this trailer?

Did you find out the history of it?

John
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Old 01-18-2003, 05:38 AM   #16
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1954 prototype

Hey John,
Al Hesselbart*emailed me that his friend Bud Cooper is very familiar with the Holiday and nearly owned one when new.* Bud says it was a small production prototype model made only in 1954 to see if the customer would buy the caravan styling as opposed to the typical Airstream styling.* The test failed and they were never put into real market production.* The prototype unit was built by a Jack Oakley and John Taylor for Wally.**
*
On the purchase or trade, the fellow who owns it doesn't have a phone and only a PO box so negotiations are PAINFULLY slow. I am going to go ahead and give him his asking price of $1,500 even though I am told by one responder to my query that $1,500 was probably a little high. He says that the value of a trailer is based more on how popular and useable it is than how rare it is.

I'm a neophyte to trailering as I have only owned my current trailer for less than a year. Its an 86 casita I restored from removing the completely stripped and gutted cabin off the frame to a complete renovation, wiring, plumbing woodwork et al . Well , I did grow up in the 50s and 60s traveling with my folks in their Airstream. This may be fool hardy thing, buying this old guy, but it really caught my fancy. I'm always looking for advice though if you would like to pitch in your 2˘.
lanny
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Old 01-18-2003, 05:57 AM   #17
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Lanny,

It sounds like you have the ablitity to completely restore this trailer and like anything else in life, it's your personal feeling/taste that matters. So if you want to tackle this job and to own a one-of-a-kind Airstream, I'd say go for it. Life's short, so you might as well enjoy eh!!

Just think of all of the looks & questions you'll be asked as you travel with it. Also, I think you'd have a ball bringing it to Vintage A/S rally's and other Tincan tourist rally's!

Good Luck-John

p.s. FYI-with your ablitiy to restore trailers, you could pick-up an older A/S for less money than $1500. A number of members have recently bought A/S ranging from $450 to $700.
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Old 01-18-2003, 06:11 AM   #18
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Thanks

Thanks John,

If I can ever close the deal, I'll put some interior shots up. And yeah, I love fixing things, building etc., seems I'm happiest when I'm in the shop. When I was younger, I restored three old houses all from the early 1900s. I was just a college prof then and as such, un employed in the summer. Now that I'm more in administration, my job, my back, nor my wife would allow me to start a project that size again. Trailers are perfect.
Lanny
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Old 07-27-2023, 02:59 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lwebb View Post
Hey John,
Al Hesselbart*emailed me that his friend Bud Cooper is very familiar with the Holiday and nearly owned one when new.* Bud says it was a small production prototype model made only in 1954 to see if the customer would buy the caravan styling as opposed to the typical Airstream styling.* The test failed and they were never put into real market production.* The prototype unit was built by a Jack Oakley and John Taylor for Wally.**
*
On the purchase or trade, the fellow who owns it doesn't have a phone and only a PO box so negotiations are PAINFULLY slow. I am going to go ahead and give him his asking price of $1,500 even though I am told by one responder to my query that $1,500 was probably a little high. He says that the value of a trailer is based more on how popular and useable it is than how rare it is.

I'm a neophyte to trailering as I have only owned my current trailer for less than a year. Its an 86 casita I restored from removing the completely stripped and gutted cabin off the frame to a complete renovation, wiring, plumbing woodwork et al . Well , I did grow up in the 50s and 60s traveling with my folks in their Airstream. This may be fool hardy thing, buying this old guy, but it really caught my fancy. I'm always looking for advice though if you would like to pitch in your 2˘.
lanny
Hi Lanny,
You may be aware by now that some of the information you quote above is not considered correct anymore. We have learned a lot in the 20 years since you made your post. Airstream built 5 Byam Travelers in their Jackson Center Ohio Airstream factory between June and December 1953 before significantly revising the design into the Wally Byam's Holiday. There were five Byam Travelers built in total and two are currently known to still exist. If anything was a prototype, those five were.

In March and April 1954, the Jackson Center Airstream Plant built eight Wally Byam's Holiday trailers that look significantly different than the Byam Travelers. These are recorded in Airstream production records as serial numbers 0-0001 thru 0-0008. These eight are the only Wally Byam's Holiday trailers actually built by Airstream.

On May 1, 1954 Holiday Trailers was split off from Airstream as a separate company. Possibly as early as May 1954, but definitely prior to July 1954 when references have been found in newspaper stories, a separate Holiday Trailers factory was set up to build Wally Byam's Holiday trailer in Lewistown, OH, less than 10 miles from Jackson Center. This was a separate company with Wally Byam as President and Claude McFaul as VP and General Manager. The majority of Wally Byam's Holiday trailers were built by this separate company in a separate factory in Lewistown, OH. In late March 1955, Claude McFaul petitioned the court to appoint a "receiver" to handle the closing of Holiday Trailers because that company was "insolvent". So far I have been unable to turn up an exact street address for the Holiday Trailers factory in Lewistown, but I continue to look. It seems that their mailing address may have remained in Jackson Center even after production was moved to Lewistown. The highest currently known serial number is 1150 indicating that at least 150 Wally Byam's Holiday trailers were built and sold in total.

The Byam Traveler and Wally Byam's Holiday were the joint efforts of Wally Byam and Claude McFaul. Wally was definitely inspired by his 1953 trip to the International Trailer Rally in Europe (actually in Copenhagen, Denmark) to supplement the Airstream line on the low price end. After his return home from the Rally, he sent Claude to Europe to study the trailers there and maybe that is why the Byam Traveler was redesigned between December 1953 and March 1954 into the Wally Byam's Holiday.

In the end, though, the Wally Byam's Holiday trailer was a real production trailer made by a real company. There are 1954 models that are 14.5" long and 1955 models that are 16' and 21' long. The 21' tandems are very rare. The 14.5/16' models are nice small trailers that were packed with features for their time. For whatever reason, the company was not able to sell them at a profit and collapsed, but the 14.5'/16' Wally Byam Holiday lived on in a way as the 1955 to 1958 16' Airstream Bubble had almost the exact same floor plan, but in an Airstream shell.
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