Going to my first Florida RV SuperShow has taught me a number of interesting things about what other RV owners care about. Ease of use for people of limited mobility is a concern for some, as is the amount of labor needed to enjoy a camping experience. I also found that a lot of people care about maneuverability, too, and that’s a problem that one Italian motorhome manufacturer aims to solve. 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 as a car.
If this motorhome looks similar to you, it’s because I actually first wrote about it back in the summer of 2021. Now, I’ve seen it, touched it, played around with it, and have some additional news for you. Back then, Wingamm announced that it was coming to America. So the company’s reps tell me, Wingamm missed its release date. Then, after American RVers tested the European version, the company decided to make changes just for the American market. Now, Wingamm expects the first campers to hit American roads this spring. I got to see the Wingamm Oasi 540.1 in person and I love a lot of the ideas here. If you’re reading this from Europe, this won’t be anything that special. For size-obsessed America, this is something very different.
What Is Wingamm?
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 basic design that is still used today.
Back then, Wingamm introduced the Oasis, which started off life as a Fiat Ducato before Wingamm fitted its custom fiberglass monocoque body. The Italian RV builder also introduced its characteristic drop-down bed that offers ample space by day, and a comfy bed at night. Since then, the company has only evolved its concept into rounder, more luxurious motorhomes; all of them built with a fiberglass body. The camper that we’re talking about today, the Oasi 540, first hit the road in 2010.
The Wingamm Oasi 540.1
Wingamm brought an Oasi 540 to the 2023 Florida RV SuperShow. 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.
On the outside, the advantages of this camper are immediately apparent.
First, you’ll notice just how tiny it is. Wingamm is marketing it as a Class C. However, at 17 feet, 6 inches wide, 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.
Dare I say? This camper feels like a TARDIS inside. More on that in a bit.
Other advantages come in how it’s built. 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. Of course, my own U-Haul camper is a testament to the durability of fiberglass.
In addition to the sweet looks and durability, Wingamm’s fiberglass build hides tons of spacious storage compartments all over the camper. There’s a sizeable hatch on the left side, a huge “basement” in the rear, and a spot for propane tanks on the right.
This camper was getting tons of attention at the show, so I decided to ask the motorhome owners what drew them to it. For many of them, the appeal was the tiny size. Even though you can buy a camper with all kinds of cameras, a lot of RV owners don’t just like driving their big rigs all over the place. Thus, something that’s shorter than some pickup trucks but not as cramped as a van is really appealing.
Others saw fiberglass as a great way to lower maintenance costs. A number of the people commented that they’re either not fans of maintaining their camper roofs or not fans of paying someone to do it. Fiberglass would make that a lot easier.
However, two people found what they thought was a big problem with the Oasi 540 and it was with the RV’s waste tank.
This camper has a shower and a toilet, but that toilet dumps into this tiny five-gallon tank. The RV owners that I spoke with hated that. They explained that when that little five-gallon tank fills up, someone’s gotta haul it to the dump site. A whole five gallons doesn’t seem like much, but the motorhome owners told me that means lugging 40 pounds of waste to the dump site, more if that waste has any heavy solid material in it. For these elderly RV owners, they felt that this was perhaps just enough weight to pull something.
Further, given the huge amount of space for storage, they were confused about why Wingamm didn’t use some of it for a more traditional waste tank. One motorhome owner showed me how they would cut a hole into the fiberglass and feed the waste into a larger tank that could be dumped with a hose like most RVs. After she showed me her idea, my mind was solidly blown. It’s actually pretty brilliant!
Inside
My favorite part about this camper is its interior. Now, as I said, this is shorter than the big Sprinter-based campers that you see out there. Yet, it feels surprisingly roomy inside. I hopped in and sat down without walking sideways or squeezing through spaces like I would in a regular camper van. Mind you, I’m not a small person by any means.
A big part of the magic here is how Wingamm handles bedding. See, you’ll notice that this interior doesn’t appear to have a bed. That’s because the bed is hinged and comes down from the ceiling.
Wingamm’s bed allows you to have ample space during the day, and a nice bed to sleep in at night. This bed and its 770-pound payload are good enough for two, and two more people can sleep on the couches below. I see this camper being pretty comfy for three adults, and it would be fantastic for a couple.
The interior quality is also very good. Everything feels like the designers knew that you’d be touching it. Sometimes when I feel up an RV I get shocked at how bad certain surfaces feel. That’s not the case here.
Everything feels like it belongs. Heck, those seats are better than some home furniture I’ve sat on. Of course, the camper also comes with everything you need for a comfortable journey. Insulation comes from expanded polyurethane PU and heating is handled both by a traditional heating system and a radiant floor heater. At this time, fresh water capacity is unpublished, but the European version holds 26 gallons.
The American version, dubbed the Oasi 540.1, will take feedback from potential owners and improve the camper. The 540.1 will feature a redesigned entry stair as well as grab handles next to the entry door.
What It’ll Cost You
Now that I have you hooked on all of the good stuff, I do have some potentially bad news. This lovely rig is set to cost $145,000 before shipping. If you think of this as a big camper van, it’s really competitive. For example, the Wingamm 540.1 is priced at about $10,000 more expensive than an Airstream Rangeline, which is also based on the ProMaster, but you get far more room in this than you do in the Airstream. You get far more features, too. The Wingamm Oasi 540.1 is even roomier than a Winnebago Solis 59PX, which comes in at a higher price.
This is to say that given how RVs are currently priced right now, I think Wingamm has a good entry on its hands. Wingamm tells me that if you want one, you should put down your $1,000 reservation right now. The company expects to start shipping in the spring, but there’s enough demand that it expects the waitlist to stretch into 2024 soon.
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Like all modern RVs, it needs more yellow/orange/brown stripes. Other than that, it seems pretty dialed.
Compact Wonder….you mean Small Wonder, like the show? 😮
Right off it’s built on a Fiat so anyone stupid enough to buy one better have a AAA membership with the unlimited towing plan. Looking pass the Fiat deal it’s a cool little RV, but for us a hair too little. A 5 gallon holding tank isn’t going to please most people and I hope they have plans for something larger. I always check out RVs when in Europe as they tend to be small and light compared to ours with some very cool features we don’t have. Then there is the price. For that amount I can buy a slightly used Diesel 4X4 Sprinter.
You sound like a parody account with that Fiat comment. As if USPS, FedEx, Amazon, DHL, etc. don’t have tens of millions of miles on their ProMaster fleets. I’d sure as hell buy one of those before a Sprinter.
Whatever. Buy what you want to buy. I’ll take the Diesel 4X4 Sprinter.
Honestly, the only thing I don’t like about it is that it’s based on the Fiat Ducato, which is easily the least reliable, least durable commercial van on the market.
That bed hinge is really clever. I haven’t seen anything like that. As for the cassette toilet. I dunno, this is what we have on out tent trailer and its fine for 5-6 people for a long weekend and dumping it isn’t nearly as onerous as I thought it would be. If mine had wheels and a handle it would be even less so. I guess if you are in this full time, being able to drive up to the dump station and hook up hoses less often is more convenient. Honestly the cassette seems like messy and gross than storing poop hoses to me. Just use the wash hose at the dump station to rinse off the outside every now and again and it will always look and smell fresh. It’s small enough of a hassle that we sometimes set it up even if there are restrooms where we are camping so my wife doesn’t have to make the midnight run.
I find myself in fascinated by all RVs, but especially small ones like this. They are so cool, but the economics make absolutely no sense. A nice Airbnb cabin will run you roughly $3000 per week. You could stay in one roughly 50 weeks for what one of these costs. That doesn’t include what it costs to rent a slot in an RV park or all the upkeep and fuel costs. Then you have to store it somewhere. I just can’t ever imagine justifying one even if I had lottery money.
For someone I know who likes theirs, they enjoy the ability to go on an extended (multiple month) road trip where you aren’t constantly packing and unpacking. They fill the fridge up and have what they prefer rolling along with them. They have dogs, so no worries about finding pet friendly hotels or rentals.
It is definitely a luxury, and they do use theirs quite a bit so it isn’t just sitting around needing storage/maintenance.
Yeah, they never make financial sense. It’s a luxury item. We enjoy our Airstream trailer, but we bought used (like 15 years old used), have room to store it at our house, and I do all the maintenance myself (which is just things like packing wheel bearings, and washing/waxing.). We use it about 20-25 days a year. It’s also always hooked up to full power in our yard, so if I want to just get away someplace quiet for a bit to do some work, I can just go our there. For vacations, it allows us to cook all our meals, take whatever we want with us from the house, and enjoy the outdoors. We’ve had great experiences so far. If I’m staying someplace for a few days, I’ll often just drag it behind me rather than rent a hotel, because typically the gas and campground fees are still significantly less than a hotel. Having a camper does allow us to get away more. We paid cash for it, so now that it’s paid for, it costs almost nothing to use it on a vacation (plus we feel obligated to use it). It’s $250-300 for a campground (sometimes way more or sometime less) for a week, plus activities and some gas. We’ll still eat out for lunches if we are doing something for the day, but breakfast and dinner are typically home cooked meals. It’s good quality family time and our kids can’t ignore us or hide because we are all living in about 150 square feet.
Mercedes, have you been in a Winnebago Revel? I’m curious how the interior feels versus one of those.
The 5 Gallon Tank is the European solution for waste water / toilet management. In Europe we are used to using the camping toilets and showers while we are on a campsite. Also caravans and campers are smaller, leaving less space for grey / black water tanks. Furthermore we did not used to have dumpsites where you could drive to with your caravan or camper. Instead, most of the time you have to dispose your toilet waste in a specific place next to the toilets, which explains the removable, smaller waste tanks.
Because the RV trend is also a thing here, more and more campsites in Europe now also have dumpsites, maybe the equipment here will change as well.
I do like that drop down bed.
Hey Mercedes can you review a Kei camper sometime? That would be a bit of fun! 🙂
Something to add to your to-do list if you ever visit Japan
Thank goodness it’s built on a Stellantis platform! What could go wron?
Am I the only one who misreads this as ” Wingman ? “
Had me interested until I saw the price. For that money, I’d get a Roadtrek. There are several models with more features that are cheaper, and the most expensive one is less than 50k more… And all of them have an available king sized bed and larger black tank capacity with a dump system so you don’t have to carry your shit across the campground.
All that said, I will never understand why these small Class-B/Cs don’t often have a bathroom delete option. You’re not going to be boondocking in something like that, and I’d much rather just use the campground toilets than stink up my own rig.
Agreed. Space is at a premium in these… I don’t want to spend it on something that I don’t want to use.
“ using a single thick piece of molded fiberglass.”
I’m not sure I like that from a repair perspective. I’d like to hear otherwise, but doesn’t this lead to the monohull much more likely to be totaled and replaced for accidents that would otherwise only necessitate a quarterpanel, other body partS?
Probably, but it also means no seams to leak, which as Mercedes has previously documented can be a serious problem for RVs.
I’d rather Take a SWB Ram Promaster van and kit it out as a camper. Hell with that budget I could take it cut the middle out of it, and make it into a shorty RV.
Well I’m making over $15K a month just being a total bum! Beat that!
Nice little RV. But for $145,000, I’d rather have this 1965 Airstream Caravel for less than 1/5th of the cost
https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/1965-Airstream-Airstream+17%27+Caravel-5018619939
And then find a vehicle that can pull 2400lbs of trailer + cargo and people.
… or I’ll just stick with my huge tent that is big enough to fit my Fit in.
The size is nothing remarkable in Oz nor is the space efficiency and, regrettably, nor is the price (given that the Ducato under it amounts to roughly a third the local price). However, that V6 gas engine is a massive mistake (that other European marques have made before in their US market vans) and I’m surprised the blackwater cart doesn’t have wheels…
Everything in RVs and overlanding is a compromise.
I’ve be curious to known how close the Oasi 540.1 is in weight to the GVWR of the chassis. This may be why Wingamm chose such a small gray water tank, and why the freshwater tank size is not published yet.
Most motorhomes move from home to RV park to RV park (etc) to home. In that use case, tiny water tanks are fine. The maneuverability of the Oasi 540.1 suggests it could be used for boondocking, where larger tanks would be desirable. However, I do not believe the Ducato 4×4 is available in the US, so that limits the trails one would drive the Oasi 540.1.
Another commenter mentioned blackwater suitcases. These really are not a bad compromise IMHO. One can empty a suitcase at any toilet facility along the road, such as a rest stop, or at a designated RV dump site. We’re transitioning to a composting toilet in our Sprinter, but have used a blackwater suitcase for several years and found ours has sufficient capacity for two humans over a three-day weekend.
My parents own a full-sized A-class that they are starting to feel less comfortable driving for long trips. They would be perfect candidates for the Oasi 540.1 because of its size. They would not need to flat-tow a small vehicle anymore. They rarely boondock, so the small tanks would not be a compromise.
“Blackwater Suitcase.” Band name, called it.
Having spent 8 months in a ’76 VW camper van on our honeymoon and subsequent years in a ’80 Vanagon Westfalia, this would be a great extension of that size theme. We had a porta-potty and hauling the tank to dump wasn’t that big of a deal, but then again that was several decades ago.
I dont think it looks like it has any more room. The table pedestal is right against the seat. No leg room. I would have prefered pictures with a person or 2 or 3 in the van. Looks very nice but $145 000 i would just buy a vacation home and bnb it.
This looks like a sweet van. Considering my current camper is a 15 foot long Aliner, this would bring some creature comforts missing in our current one. But it better considering this is waaaaaaaaaay more than the Aliner. And the whole needing to decamp when wanting to go somewhere thing.
So you pay $145k for a fiberglass minivan, powered by a pentastar, has a shower but only enough water to use it once, and makes you poop into a briefcase?
Would also like to apply to rename this type of blackwater tank to “The Devil’s Carry-on”
this looks cool af but the price of it (and the others you compare it to) is just so insane to me
I also think it’s insane, which is why I build my own. And why the conversion market is so hot, because you have 100 grand to work with for customization if you take that road. But Class B campers aren’t meant for weekend adventures, they are designed more for full-time retirement living. Basically taking all the features of a Class A and distilling it down to a smaller and easier to drive package.
Looks like more room than a truck camper, which is plenty big enough for us.
Now if we could find something that can tow a horse trailer, we’d be set.
For the extra fresh barbecue nights!
My Promaster (2014) was rated to tow 5,000lbs, but the new ones can tow more than that. How that translates to the build-out Class-B RVs, I’m not sure.
I dislike the sh*tcase system.
A good day tripper with emergency bathroom. Nice for road side stops for rest/food.
Camping in this is just a divorce waiting to happen. Camper pulls over, door opens, someone is Yeeted out, camper continues on the journey.
I did a month in a 15 foot camper with Mrs. DBC and dogs. It’s doable if you know what you are getting into. This is about the size of a canned ham. Pack judiciously and communicate.
My VW westy is around 15″ as well. There is a bit of moving things around between day and night modes which can be a bit tiring so this packaging is pretty amazing. The rotating front row seats help open it up a lot
There are three of us to travel and this is way too small as I need space to move. I don’t want a string of “excuse me” as I move about.
As a conversion van alternative, I can see this working. Drive to hotel/vacation rental and have a way to cook and rest on the way.
Money no object, a 35’+ Super C with a towable vehicle would fit our travel needs.