This work is concerned with the mechanical design and the description of the different components of a new mobile base for a lightweight mobile manipulator. These kinds of mobile manipulators are normally composed of multiple lightweight links mounted on a mobile platform. This work is focused on the description of the mobile platform, the development of a new kinematic model and the design of a control strategy for the system. The proposed kinematic model and control strategy are validated by means of experimentation using the real prototype. The workspace of the system is also defined.