Base vehicle
Base vehicle, motorhome donor chassis, chassis donor, motorhome base, Fiat Ducato base, Mercedes Sprinter chassis, Ford Transit base
The base vehicle is the production commercial van or chassis a motorhome builder uses as the foundation for the habitation module: either a chassis-cab or a full cargo van. In Europe, the Fiat Ducato dominates (60%+ market share), followed by Mercedes Sprinter and Ford Transit. In the US it is mostly Ford F-450/F-550, Freightliner, and Mercedes Sprinter.
The base choice drives gross weight options (3.5 / 4.4 / 5 / 7.5 t), worldwide service network availability, drivetrain warranty (separate from the habitation warranty), AdBlue requirements, and gearbox choices (manual / AL4 / 9G-Tronic). Chassis-cab versions go into semi-integrated and overcab motorhomes; cargo vans are converted to campervans and kastenwagens. The vehicle manufacturer covers the running gear; the motorhome builder covers the habitation module.