Wally's rare white Airstream returns

Probably the most unique, American-built Airstream caravan ever built -- a one-of-a-kind white painted 26ft travel trailer used by founder Wally Byam during the 1956 European Caravan promotional tour -- has been fully restored and put on public display for the first time at the newly opened Airstream Heritage Center, located near the Airstream factory at Jackson Center, Ohio.

The historically significant Airstream joins more than a dozen vintage 'silver bullet' caravans from across the nine decades of company history on display at the Airstream Heritage Center, which officially opened on June 1.

Airstream enthusiasts Megan and Scott Goranson stumbled across the distinctive but dilapidated Airstream when it was advertised for sale, and after "meticulous research, boundless energy, once-in-a-lifetime luck, and the requisite sweat and tears" the pair have brought the historic RV back to life for museum visitors to enjoy.

"One of our friends sent me a link to this Craigslist ad, saying look at this weird Airstream,” Scott Goranson recalled. “It was painted with butterflies and stars and rainbows and all sorts of stuff all over. It was a mess.”

Airstream historian Joe Peplinsk helped the couple identify it as Wally Byam’s “White Trailer” – the Airstream founder’s personal unit which he used to travel through Central America and Europe in the 1950s, not long after the Airstream factory re-opened following World War II.

Designed for Byam and his wife Stella, the Airstream was painted white to match the couple's white Cadillac tow vehicle, while other standout features included seven-panel end shells, a front kitchen, a folding dinette table, jalousie windows, and cork flooring.

To assist with the accuracy of the restoration they referred to photo records of the time, and scoured the internet and vintage trailer suppliers for various period-pieces and other parts.

The restoration was a labour of love, with paint stripping alone requiring hundreds of hours of meticulous work, while the curved aluminium panels were pieced back together in the same manner that all Airstreams are constructed: with one person on the exterior with a rivet gun and another on the interior with a bucking bar, punching thousands of rivets into the metal skin to hold it together.

For the full story on the White Trailer, click here, or visit the official website for more information about the Airstream Heritage Center.