Ford’s new Transit Motorhome Chassis
- New Transit Motorhome Chassis offers low frame height and lower kerb weight for better payload and higher fuel efficiency
- New Ford Motorhome Charter offers even better support to motorhome customers
Ford’s new Transit Motorhome Chassis adds to its range of dedicated vehicles for the motorhome industry. Designed for specialist converters, the new, lightweight chassis offers enhanced payload and fuel efficiency for motorhome enthusiasts in Europe.
“The Ford Transit has established itself as one of the top choices for the European motorhome industry,” said Steve Adams, Vehicle Line Director for Commercial Vehicles at Ford of Europe. “All of the traditional virtues and strengths of the Transit range, including the combination of latest technology and high levels of durability at an affordable price, are the starting point for our tailored solutions that support the different construction philosophies of the motorhome builders,” he added. “The new Transit Motorhome Chassis joins the broad variety of existing Ford chassis cabs with front-, rear- and all-wheel-drive, and single and double rear wheel configurations. It has been eagerly awaited by some of our manufacturer partners who want to design new stylish and contemporary motorhomes using the proven foundation of the Ford Transit,” he said.
The new Transit Motorhome chassis has a reinforced lightweight ladder frame with a low construction height. With three different wheelbases – 3.3m, 3.75m and 3.95m- and open rear rails allowing simple fitment of frame extensions, the new chassis technology offers greater freedom to companies developing front-wheel-drive motorhome designs. The chassis can also be ordered with an extra-wide rear axle with an impressive track of 1.98m.
The new Ford Transit Motorhome Chassis is available with the well-proven 2.2-litre Duratorq TDCi turbo diesel engine, offering 115PS (300Nm) and 140PS (350Nm) power and torque levels, and a standard six-speed manual transmission. An electronic anti-lock braking system (ABS) is standard, and Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) with Hill Launch Assist (HLA) is also available.
The full range of standard Transit equipment is available, offering passenger-car-like comfort with generous stowage areas and a wide range of modern in-car entertainment systems, including Sat-Nav and CD radios with optional Bluetooth® functionality and auxiliary input. Optional factory-fit swivelling captains’ seats with dual armrests provide a touch of luxury as well as interior functionality and help to optimise living space.
The new Transit Motorhome Chassis offers features and details specially designed to allow the integration of a motorhome:
- The cabin cut-out preparation allows flexibility for attaching different body profiles.
- The outboard camper handbrake positioned on the outward side of the driver seat provides unrestricted walkthrough access from the front seats.
- The antenna mounting is moved from the roof to the mirror mounting to provide clearance for the overhead conversion.
- A central electrical connector facilitates faster integration of additional electrical systems during the conversion process.
- Auxiliary fuel tank connections are available for diesel powered devices such as diesel-powered heater systems.
Ford pledges increased support to motorhome customers
To offer customers improved support, Ford is also launching a number of new initiatives to strengthen the after sales service for motorhome customers. These include specialised support at its Customer Assistance Centres in Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, and the announcement of a pan-European network of more than 1,000 “Ford Motorhome Charter” dealers.
Selected from its European network of over 7,000 authorised repairers, Ford Motorhome Charter dealers are specially trained and prepared to service and repair even the largest of Ford-based motorhomes. In addition, they offer further motorhome customer benefits such as holiday season opening times, priority booking, international warranty support and emergency repairs for immobilised motorhomes.
Ford has included a directory of these dealers in a new Motorhome Customer Handbook that will be supplied with all new Transit motorhomes. The directory will also be available as a download from the new Motorhome section in Ford’s UK customer websites.
