RVers love to travel--just about anywhere. Now imagine taking your urge to roll out the rig--and have somebody pay you to do it! Ed Lonsbary lives the dream--when his phone rings it could well mean he’ll soon be ‘slipping the moorings’ on his Prevost XL motor coach to take a client off on an adventure.

Lonsbary has been at it for nine years now. He’s the ‘chief cook and bottlewasher’ for Private Motor Coach, Inc., that makes its motorhome adventure motto: “Anywhere-Anytime” to new heights. Back in 1999 when Ed was 51, he shucked the 9 to 5 corporate life and started offering rides in a luxury motorcoach to just about anywhere you want to go in the western hemisphere--well, with certain limitations.

In the nine years since Ed started his new “career,” he’s softly carted folks over 165,000 miles in 50 plus trips throughout the US and Canada. "This is safe, reliable and comfortable escorted, private travel," explains Lonsbary. "I pick people up at their door, then we hit the road. Sometimes I have as many as eight people on board, other times it's just been me and one other passenger. I've taken people in the coach for just one day while others have traveled for up to six weeks." While most of Ed’s work has been up in the northern areas, he’ll take you to Central or even South America if you wish it.

Speaking of wishes, some of his customers have had some interesting wants. From carrying a jazz band to The Hamptons, to hauling a team of drivers to pick up a load of used garbage trucks (there must be quite a story here), Ed’s seen a lot. He provides a travel option for persons with manageable disabilities who cannot travel via air or car. "These folks can get off the couch at home and go anywhere," says Lonsbary, "because the coach becomes their temporary home while on the road and an escort is always with them."

Ed’s Prevost has all the amenities of a house-on-wheels: living room, kitchen, dinette, full bathroom with shower, queen-sized bedroom, and a large storage bay for bicycles, luggage, sports equipment or whatever needs to go along on a trip, including wheelchairs. His “toad car” of choice is a Toyota Corolla.

Like many RVers, Ed’s given up “stix and brix” and lives in the coach fulltime. "Nearly all of the people who travel with Private Motor Coach find my services on the Internet by going to the website www.privatemotorcoach.com. Over time, I found that I did not need a physical office. I use emails, talk on the phone about where and when people want to travel, and then I take the coach to them. Without roots to a home or office, I can position myself to better serve my customers."

"After only two years in business, the United Motorcoach Association awarded PMC the 2001 Vision Award for innovative travel, but there are no copy cats. Many people have aspired to run a coach like I have. I give them counsel regularly but no one has yet to take the leap. As far as I know, Private Motor Coach, Inc. is the only company providing this type of custom, private travel," says Lonsbary.