Reno road warriors get a new shiny option for travel as a new Airstream dealership rolls into town. Airstream of Reno will move into the former Dania Furniture location on Kietzke Lane near Grove Street, according to a permit filed with the city of Reno.

Tracing its roots to founder Wally Byam’s “Torpedo Cruiser” that he first built on a Ford Model T chassis nearly a century ago, the silver Airstream trailer has turned into an iconic symbol of American RV life over the decades.

Airstream founder Wally Byam was born on the Fourth of July, 1896, in Baker City – a boom town along the Oregon Trail, which his grandparents had traveled in a mule-drawn wagon on their journey out west. He grew up working hard with his uncle on a sheep farm, where he lived in a wooden wagon, towed by a donkey – much like his grandparents had. Inside the wagon he had a stove, food, water, and everything he needed, which would later inspire his first travel trailer.

After working to support himself through college and graduating from Stanford in 1921, Wally worked in journalism, advertising, and publishing. He and his wife Marion went camping regularly, but she never enjoyed sleeping on the ground in a tent. So in 1929, Wally put together a tent contraption on top of a Model T chassis. It was mobile, but it wasn’t a lot of fun in the rain, and it was a chore to put together.

He went back to the drawing board and replaced the tent with a teardrop-shaped permanent shelter – and added a stove and ice chest, too. It was a proper trailer and it caught the eye of so many other travelers that Wally decided it might be “a pretty good business to get into.” Good thing he did.

In 1936, the first Airstream was introduced. It sold for $1,200 and was able to house four people with electric lights and a water supply.

Of more than 400 travel trailer builders operating in 1936, Airstream was the sole survivor of the Depression.

During World War II, travel became a luxury most could not afford and non-military industries faced an acute aluminum shortage. When World War II ended, the economy boomed, and people's attention once again turned towards leisure travel.

Byam's company went back into production in 1948. In July 1952, a new facility in Jackson Center, Ohio, was established. 1979 saw the last Airstreams to be manufactured in California.

In 1974, Airstream began manufacturing a Class A motorhome, badged "Argosy". They were followed in 1979 by the first examples of the Classic model motorhome, with an unpainted aluminum body much like the trailers.

Going back to trailers, Airstream discontinued the manufacture of Class A motorhomes in 2006.

Airstreams can easily last 40 years and more, compared to the conventional trailers typical life of 15 years. When you amortize the purchase price over its length of service, an Airstream actually costs less to own than other trailers. Over 70 percent of all Airstreams ever made are still on the road today!

Airstream produces several models: Basecamp, Bambi, Caravel, Flying Cloud, International, and Classic. Trailer sizes range between 16 and 33 feet.

In February 2022, the company unveiled the concept for an all-electric Airstream that can recharge from electric outlets at campgrounds and that has regenerative braking.

It paints a picture of a world in the not-so-distant future where your travel trailer works with your tow vehicle to maximize range and efficiency, where you unhitch and use your mobile device to remote control your Airstream into the campsite, and where ultra-efficient solar panels and high-voltage batteries enable you to take your adventures even farther off the grid.