Renting RV with driver for overnight sleeping trips

Where does the driver get 7-8 hours sleep?

You can get a live-in motorcoach with driver(s) but it will be likely something bigger than what most of us consider to be a RV. There are several hundred companies in the business, if one includes leasing agencies for the small one or two coach operations. Operations include regional tours, coast to coast travel, and family vacation trips like the one you propose.

Search "entertainer coach leasing." If you have a particular starting point in mind, try "entertainer coach leasing name_of_city (or state)." I know of operations out of Nashville, Florida, Texas, Las Vegas, and Kansas City.

With the size of your group, what you most likely need is a crew or "roadie" coach, which might have bunks for six to twelve, toilet and shower, a small kitchen, and lounge area. There is a trade-off between lounge size and number of bunks, as the coaches are all physically the same size. These are less posh than entertainer coaches which are designed to provide luxury for 1-4 people, but are leased through the same agencies. My experience is that they are more common, the entertainers often fly, the roadies sleep on the road.

Whether you need one or two drivers will depend on your schedule. There are limits on hours per day and hours between days off. I've been on trips in which the leasing company has had to send out a relief driver to handle the pace of our tour.

Expect $400 to $800 a day for the coach, plus whatever the company needs to provide drivers. You will pay for driving hours, lost hours, driver room and board (it is not customary for the driver to live in the motorcoach), relief driver transportation and travel time. There may be mileage charges in addition to the day rates, and mileage charges for travel to and from base.

Rates for an operation in San Francisco area.

Just guessing but that set up would make the hired driver a "professional" and subject to limited hours driving. Your estimate of 500 miles a night means 10 hours of driving. That would probably mean the driver would have to take naps and keep a log. Maybe two drivers? Husband and wife team? Now things get complicated and expensive. I'd be worried about the driver getting sleepy and I wouldn't be able to sleep. May as well fly to each destination and hotel it.

I really appreciate the comments. FYI, this would be my second trip with the family here, we've explored parts of California before and want to venture further afield next year. Upon further reflection and doing the numbers (assuming $250 a day for a driver) it's also rather expensive (with the extra local transport added on top).

I've found some specialists that provide chauffeured RVs but it's unlikely to be in my price range so I'll trim down the itinerary and focus on the few spots I'm most interested in. Sadly in the end this may mean a minivan/hotel trip instead.

Having said all this I've been dreaming of the time when self-driving becomes a reality. Imagine stepping into an RV at the end of the day and waking up at your destination the next. The software and ride would be tuned for maximum comfort, including super soft suspension and slow and careful cornering to not disturb people's sleep. RVing would become way more popular!

I have never heard of a service like this but never looked either, if you have the cash, anything is possible. As said above you will most likely need to book 2 nights to get one day at a campground. Most will spend the night a a campground and use the day to check things out and travel to the next campground. This way you get your rest, see what you want to see and get to where you want. Good luck.

For what it's worth.

My experience is that many people from UK/EU haven't a clue how big the USA is or how long it takes to see most things. I have owned an RV for over 20 years and there are still a long list of things I have yet to see. RV is a great way of seeing the USA but 500 miles eats up most of your day and it would still take 6 days to go from west/east cost.

Further - six people plus a driver is a TIGHT fight for even a BIG rv which aren't typically available through std RV rental sites.

IMO - consider renting a std Class A/C rig - drive it yourself - confine your trip to one region of the USA. I am from the West Coast and the last 2 week RV trip I had included Vegas, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Dinosaur National Monument, Rushmore, Yellowstone. Could have spent a few more days in each spot if I had the time.

Long story short ... RVing is an adventure -- follow your nose -- forget the hired guide.

PS.... RV Parks and campgrounds are plentiful throughout the USA - especially in tourist spots .. no need to worry about illegal camping.

Anything is possible, I think you will get caught up in some issues.
- Typical RV rental places likely won't have anything like this. It will have to be a specialty company.
- The driver will need a commercial license (generally RV's in the USA do not require a special license regardless of size)
- It would have to be a motorhome of some sort as several states don't allow riders in trailers and even those that do have rules.
- Once you get to your destination how will you get around? We don't have transit like you expect in Europe and a big motorhome isn't convient for day trips (not to mention your driver will already be dead tired).

The kids may be the ultimate stumbling block. Legally, adults do not require seatbelts unless in the front seats. Kids must be in seat belts regardless of where they sit. Realistically most kids in motorhomes aren't in seatbelts...but they are typically driven by relatives who take a calculated risk that they won't be caught. The problem is a professional driver who's license is on the line and the company that may have seperate liability concerns may not want to deal with the issue.

With only 10-14 days, I would set more realistic goals. Imagine if someone said they wanted to see the UK, france, germany and italy in 10 days. While it's theoretically possible, it won't be a fun trip.

Another option would be to consider a rail trip with stops at hotels and rental cars mixed in. Not neccessarily cheap but solves a lot of the complications.

I think you need to do some more research. Do you have friends or family that have visited us before? They would be a great source of what to expect.
Planning to be like a cruise ship,with travel done at night with port of call during the day sounds like a logistical nightmare. Distances west of the Mississippi will make rental cars inconvenient or just plain impractical.

This type of thing is done all the time. You would need to look into professional coach services like touring musicians would use. They will be very expensive, but at the same time very nice.

Something like this!

I think you'll have a hard time finding anything like this available, certainly not as a packaged deal. I'm not aware of any RV charters that include a driver, or at least not for anything less than utter opulence. You would presumably have to hire a driver and rent the RV separately (or hire a driver who is willing to rent the RV). I am not sure too many drivers would be willing to accept this sort of job due to liability and possibly legality concerns.

Practically all campgrounds are run with the assumption that you are staying nights, not days. Arrival hours are in the afternoon/evening and departure hours are in the morning. You may very well have to pay for an extra night at each campground.

My hunch is that you wouldn't sleep particularly well in the RV while it's in motion. It would be OK for a night or two, but after a couple of weeks, you'd be beat. I may be all wrong. The younger kids might do better than the rest, actually; many kids seem to be able to sleep decently in impossible positions and situations.

My free advice, and worth every penny, is to plan to see fewer things in a more traditional way. A minivan rental and motel/hotel rooms would be considerably less expensive and less fiddly and probably more restful.