The Fiat Ducato is a European Panel Van that has become synonymous with van life and recreational vehicles. You might be thinking – it is pretty similar looking to the Ram ProMaster, right…?
“The World is a book and those who do not travel read but only one page.“
St Augustine
Well the Fiat Ducato might look similar to the Ram ProMaster… because it is a ProMaster! The front wheel drive Fiat Ducato was actually a joint venture between Fiat, Peugeot and Citroen, and has been licenced built for different markets by a number of other auto manufacturers, for example both Ram and (previously) Dodge.
For this reason I wont go into great detail, so please refer to the Ram ProMaster van life conversion review. Rest assured though, this is a tried and tested vehicle. The Ducato is the base vehicle of choice for the overwhelming majority of European camper van conversions, motor homes and recreational vehicles, making up nearly two-thirds of all of them.
The Ducato comes in three configurations;
- MWB: 136 inch wheel base (112 inch living space)
- LWB: 159 inch wheel base (132 inch living space)
- LWB Extended: 159 inch wheel base (146 inch living space) *This is the smallest of all the extended vans in its class
Fiat Ducato summary
The Fiat Ducato is a great choice for couples or a young family who want to prioritize living space as well as ease of doing the camper van conversion, and who don’t need the flexibility of 4WD or a higher ground clearance for ‘off-roading’. They can be found for around $40,000 new (petrol), but a good second hand van can be found for half that.
