This Tiny Motorhome Drives Like A Car, Is Shorter Than A F-150, And You Can Buy It Soon. Here's What To Expect - The Autopian (2024)

Back in 2021, I discovered the kind of motorhome that so many RVers say they want. The Wingamm Oasi 540.1 is a compact motorhome that’s shorter than most F-150s, is designed to drive like a car, and somehow still features all of the space and features expected from a luxury form of travel. Wingamm has been talking about entering the United States market for over three years. Now, it’s finally happening as the RV builder jumped through all of the hoops to make it happen. Here’s what you can expect from this fresh Italian face in the RV market.

I’ve now been going to RV shows for a couple of years now and doing so has given me some insight into what the camping world looks like right now. As I’ve reported in the past, the quality of many rigs has fallen into the toilet while others ask for mind-boggling money. Something I was surprised to learn about was a growing demographic of RV buyer.

If I say “motorhome,” most Americans would probably picture giant Class A coaches with massive diesel engines and price tags north of a million dollars. A Prevost makes my apartment look like a shanty. These buses are great, except for the fact that a lot of people are falling out of love with monstrosities that cost more than a decent house. As I’ve learned on the RV show circuit, many folks just don’t want to drive a 35-foot or longer bus. They also don’t want to pay the prices those coaches command. Even if they wanted to drive a big bus, some folks just didn’t have the mobility to climb into one.

These people are looking for a coach offering something different. They still want the luxuries of a big motorhome, but they want it to handle like their family car.

Those people also don’t want to drive something so large and ungainly that they should really have a CDL to drive it. That’s where Italian motorhome manufacturer Wingamm comes in. It read the market and realized that there are a bunch of people who wanted a compact RV, and it hatched a plan to bring over its Oasi 540 motorhome as the improved Oasi 540.1. The Wingamm Oasi 540.1 is a motorhome that bridges the gap between a Class B and a Class C while maintaining a driving feel similar to that of a car.

The road to get this motorhome into America wasn’t a smooth one, but the company finally has good news to deliver.

It’s Been A Long Road

If you didn’t catch our previous piece, I’ll bring you up to speed on Wingamm. This is not a startup company, but a firm that’s been operating in Europe for decades, from my story:

Wingamm opened its doors in Italy in 1977. Its founders, the Turri brothers, were initially builders of furniture. Eventually, the pair fell in love with RVs, and decided to use their experience in the furniture business to create their own RVs. The Turri brothers founded Wingamm, drawing inspiration from the peregrine falcon. Like the bird of prey, Wingamm sees its campers as robust, nimble vehicles capable of getting you to your destination in comfort.

Wingamm started off small, by taking vans supplied by customers, chopping off their roofs and fitting a fiberglass camper shell in their place. In 1982, the company evolved its campers into the design that is still used today.

One of Wingamm’s longest-running nameplates is the Oasis, or Oasi. That compact motorhome started life as a Fiat Ducato before the company grafted on its signature fiberglass monocoque body.

Wingamm coaches are big on space and how the company achieves that in the footprint of a van is through its bed system. The company’s motorhomes feature a bed that drops down from the ceiling. That way you have spacious relaxation space and ample room for sleeping when you want it. Since those early days, Wingamm has decided to move itself into the luxury RV space, but still keeps things small.

Wingamm continues to build the Oasi today and the version we’re getting in America originally began production in 2010. The company practically stole the 2023 Florida RV SuperShow with its appearance, from my piece:

This little guy is based on the Italian market Fiat Ducato and comes equipped as it would in Italy. In America, we know the Ducato as the Ram ProMaster. The Ducato found underneath this camper could technically be considered a Holy Grail. The ProMaster was sold in America with a 3.0-liter Iveco F1C diesel four. This one has a 2.3-liter Iveco F1A diesel four. Both engines are rated at 175 HP. When Wingamm releases the U.S. version, it’ll come with the 3.6-liter gasoline V6 making 276 HP. Wingamm’s people tell me that this European model was imported for display only and can never be registered here.

First, you’ll notice just how tiny it is. Wingamm is marketing it as a Class C. However, at 17 feet, 6 inches [long], it’s as short as something like a Winnebago Solis Pocket. It’s shorter than many of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter conversions and it’s even shorter than a regular cab, long bed pickup. And unlike the aforementioned Winnebago, this has a lot more features and doesn’t feel nearly as cramped.

Wingamm builds its campers using a single thick piece of molded fiberglass. The company touts style and longevity with this choice. Since it’s a single piece of fiberglass, you don’t have to worry about roof leaks and the company says that its campers can last the long haul.

At first, all seemed well. Wingamm said it was transforming the European-spec Oasi 540 (below) into the American-spec Oasi 540.1. The idea there was that Wingamm would take what it learned from the RV show circuit and tailor the Oasi 540 just for Americans.

Delays

Unfortunately, Wingamm then started missing its own estimated launch dates. The Oasi 540.1 was originally supposed to launch in fall 2021, then that got pushed to spring 2022 and then to spring 2023. Later, it was pushed again to summer 2023. Eventually, Wingamm’s USA arm stopped announcing delivery dates out there and instead just said that it was coming soon. If you paid attention to Wingamm USA’s social media accounts, you likely saw that investors and those who paid a deposit for a coach were beginning to worry. These people invested money into Wingamm USA just to see delivery dates slide.

Earlier this year, I decided to get to the bottom of this. Wingamm is not a startup company, yet it had delays like it was one. People wanted to know when or even if they would be able to buy their Oasi 540.1. They wanted to know where their money went. To get an answer to the delays, I spoke with Jennifer Buonantony, a PR representative for Wingamm USA. Buonantony explained a very familiar situation.

She explained that the first hurdle was getting the motorhome certified for U.S. regulations. The motorhomes coming to the United States aren’t just the Italian units with Ram ProMaster badging. Instead, Stellantis is building U.S.-spec Ram ProMaster cutaways in Mexico. Those cutaways are then shipped from Mexico to Boston.

From there, the vans get shipped to Italy where they’re converted into motorhomes. Finally, they get back on a boat for a third time and make it back over to America. This alone takes a lot of time, but Wingamm ran into a number of roadblocks. Stellantis was hit by pandemic parts shortages, delaying the construction and shipping of the ProMaster cutaways. Then, the vans had to go to Italy, where Wingamm’s suppliers were snarled during the pandemic.

I’m told that Wingamm fell behind simply because the company didn’t have the parts to build the motorhomes. Eventually, the parts shortages cleared up, allowing Wingamm to build prototype Oasi 540.1 units. Those units are currently undergoing testing and certification in Italy before shipment to America.

The company has released a statement about those delays:

The initial delays were a result of Covid related supply chain issues and then there were some challenges sourcing materials and parts from Wingamm’s US suppliers. We are thrilled to let our customers know those challenges are now behind us and we expect our long awaited US Oasi 540.1 debut to begin soon. Updates will first be released through Scott Watson on his YouTube channel “Go Small. Live Large!”. We are grateful for the continued support from our valued customers and the RV community at large as we have worked to bring Wingamm to America.

Thanks for your patience!

Thankfully, Wingamm appears to be pulling through as today, Scott Watson released that promised video, a first look at the American-spec Wingamm Oasi 540.1.

The American Wingamm Oasi 540.1

The first part that stands out about the Wingamm Oasi 540.1 is its exterior. It has the appearance of a Class C motorhome, but its body is a smooth and rounded single piece of fiberglass. Then you notice just how small it is.

Popular camper vans often measure around 20 feet in length. This? It’s a diminutive 17 feet, 6 inches long. That makes it as short as a compact camper van like a Winnebago Solis Pocket and shorter than the most popular pickup trucks in America. Yet, because the Wingamm Oasi 540.1 is not a camper van, it fits a far roomier interior into the same footprint.

Step into the rear entry door and you’ll be presented with an interior that’s small, but still has plenty of space to move around in. This Wingamm Oasi 540.1 is perhaps one of just a few modern RVs that you can describe as a TARDIS. If you aren’t a Doctor Who fan, I’m basically saying that it feels bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.

My favorite part about the interior was the fact that when I saw the Oasi 540.1 in 2023, I was able to walk through the interior without turning sideways. I’m not a small person and most camper vans make me slide my butt across their interior. That’s not the case here. The drop-down bed isn’t a gimmick, either. When it’s in its stowed position, you really do feel like you have so much more space.

I also enjoyed the build quality of the interior. The surfaces felt pleasing to the touch and the seating felt better than some home furniture I’ve sat in. Too many camper producers try to pass off cheap garbage for interior materials. Even over $200,000 Winnebago camper vans have seating materials that seem like an afterthought. But this felt like something deserving of the price tag. Everything you need was inside, too, from a compact galley to a real wet bath in the back. Insulation comes from expanded polyurethane PU and heating is handled both by a traditional heating system and a radiant floor heater.

The only part I wasn’t a fan of was the cassette toilet. The Oasi 540.1 is full of brilliant ideas, but the bathroom is let down by what our readers call the “sh*t case.” At the very least, the RV has a bunch of different molded fiberglass storage spaces and the one in the rear is large enough to stow multiple cassettes. Still, I would have loved to see a real black tank.

European Fiat Ducato Wingamm models get neat diesel engines, but we here in America will be getting a Ram ProMaster with a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 making 276 horses and 250 lb-ft of torque. That’s driving the front wheels through an automatic. Other changes for the U.S. market include a redesigned entry stair as well as the addition of a grab handle. You’ll also get a Wingamm badge where the Ram badge would normally sit.

House power comes from two AGM batteries with 95 Ah on deck each. Those batteries are combined with a BOS LE300 322 Wh lithium battery to create a hybrid house battery system. The LE300 is designed to be a drop-in supplement to extend the battery charge and lifespan of existing batteries. If you aren’t fond of that, you can option your Oasi 540.1 to have two lithium batteries. Standard, the coaches will come with 210W of roof solar.

Buyers of the Oasi 540.1 will find themselves choosing between two exterior motifs. The Fashion Edition is white featuring a detailed graphics package showing off the Wingamm logo. Then there’s the Black Edition, which, confusingly, is still white, but now the graphics are plain black without detail. Options are slated to include a tow hitch, a bike rack, a microwave, a television, and various interior upholstery options. An option that you don’t see very often is the ability to fill your Oasi 540.1 with a selection of plates and silverware.

In addition to the 540.1, Wingamm wants to bring other variations of the Oasi to America. These other models include the 19-foot Brownie, the 19-foot City Pro, the 20-foot Oasi 610 GL, the 20-foot Oasi 610M, the 20-foot Oasi 610 ST, and the 22-foot Oasi 690 Twins. Each of these has a different interior layout and will be based on the Ram ProMaster. Check them out below.

Wingamm has also unveiled rentals. Once shipments are up and running, you’ll be able to rent a new Wingamm for a weekend in Florida, Texas, or New York. If you love the coach and decide to buy it, the rental cost will be free. You may want to know about the service network and that is a good question. Wingamm says the Ram ProMaster part will be repairable at any place that services Ram ProMaster vans. As for the coach portion, the company plans on relying on mobile RV mechanics to fix any issues that arise in customer vehicles.

Sadly, Wingamm still doesn’t have a firm launch date for the Oasi 540.1 or the future imports. It hasn’t mentioned a hard price, either. In 2023, the company said it was targeting $145,000. Update: We’ve been informed by Wingamm that the price will be $188,500. If you consider the Wingamm Oasi 540.1 to be a step up from a camper van, that price is a deal. Airstream and Winnebago both charge tens of thousands of dollars more for smaller vans with worse interiors. Remember the Winnebago Revel? Sure, that is based on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter with AWD, but that costs much more and you sleep in a much worse interior.

So, we remain hopeful that Wingamm can hit this one out of the park. Some real progress is being made here and hopefully, those who put money into this will be seeing a return. Wingamm tells me that additional information will be coming soon.