The lithium battery for your Swift motorhome.
Swift build everything from compact campervans to the flagship Kon-Tiki twin-axle, and every model leaves Cottingham fitted with a sealed AGM that you can only half use. A TITAN drops into the same locker, gives you the full rated capacity, and on the payload-tight Ford-based vans saves you several kilos that you put straight back into gear and water.
One manufacturer, two platforms, the full spectrum of use
Swift Group, based in Cottingham, East Yorkshire, is one of the UK's largest motorhome and campervan manufacturers. The range spans everything from the Monza pop-top campervan to the Kon-Tiki flagship coachbuilt, and the models split across two base vehicles: Ford Transit for the Voyager, Trekker and the Transit-van campervans, and Fiat Ducato on an AL-KO chassis for the Escape and Kon-Tiki. That matters for the battery upgrade because it affects payload headroom and how the alternator charging works.
Every Swift leaves the factory with a sealed AGM leisure battery managed through a Sargent power system. The factory fit is typically 75Ah to 120Ah - enough for a hook-up holiday, not enough for a week off-grid. Because you can only safely take an AGM down to around 50% before you start damaging it, the usable reserve is considerably less than the label suggests. A TITAN lithium of the same or similar footprint gives you close to 100% usable capacity, charges far faster, and handles the deep cycling that motorhome life demands.
If you want the broader picture of switching to lithium in a coachbuilt, the motorhome battery guide covers the fundamentals. If you are comparing Swift against other brands, the motorhome brands hub has the full picture.
Sizing a Swift by model
A starting point by model type. Swift's 3,500 kg Ford-based vans are payload-sensitive, so a single lithium replacing a heavier lead-acid bank is often the right call even before you consider the extra capacity.
| Model | How it gets used | Good fit |
|---|---|---|
| Swift campervan (Carrera, Trekker, Monza)Panel van and pop-top, 2-4 berth, 3,500 kg | Weekend touring, lights, fridge, phones | 100Ah to 150Ah |
| Voyager / Trekker coachbuilt (Ford, 3,500 kg)Lowline and overcab, 4-6 berth, payload-limited | Touring with heating, water pump, fridge | 100Ah to 150Ah |
| Escape (Fiat Ducato, AL-KO, 4-4,500 kg)Lowline coachbuilt, 4-6 berth, more payload headroom | Longer stays, off-grid nights, more devices | 150Ah to 230Ah |
| Kon-Tiki flagship (Fiat Ducato, 4,500 kg+, twin-axle)Most payload headroom, full onboard kit | Extended off-grid, inverter use, large appliances | 230Ah to 330Ah |
These are starting points, not fixed rules. The honest figure comes from your own loads, not the model name, so total them in the battery size calculator. Battery lockers and trays vary by model year and Swift specification level, so measure your existing space - including terminal height - before ordering. For larger banks you can run matched packs in parallel where the locker allows.
Where the leisure battery lives in a Swift
Swift locates the leisure battery in one of several places depending on the model line, base vehicle and specification level. The common positions are:
- Under the driver or passenger cab seat. Most Ford-based Swifts - Voyager, Trekker and the Transit campervans - site the AGM in a box under one of the cab seats. The low, flat DIN case is built for exactly this: it keeps the centre of gravity down and clears the seat frame. Measure the tray carefully, as swivel-seat bases eat into the available height on some layouts.
- Under rear seating or in a floor-mounted compartment. Some Escape and Kon-Tiki layouts position the battery box under the rear lounge or in a dedicated floor compartment. This gives more headroom for a larger battery or a side-by-side parallel pair.
- In the external locker or garage. Larger Kon-Tiki coachbuilts often run the battery bank in the habitation locker or garage, where there is room to mount the charger, DC-DC unit and fusing alongside it.
Because the TITAN case is sealed to IP67, it handles the damp and dust of an underfloor or locker mount without issue. The RJ45 comms ports drop to IP32 while a cable is connected, so keep any plugged port clear of standing water. Battery locations and tray dimensions vary between Swift model years and trim levels - measure your space and include terminal clearance before ordering rather than going by a brochure measurement.
Charging a Swift from alternator, solar and mains
A Swift charges its leisure battery from three sources: the engine alternator while driving, roof solar through an MPPT, and the mains charger on hook-up. Lithium takes all three faster than the AGM it replaces, so a decent motorway run or a sunny afternoon puts real capacity back rather than a slow overnight trickle.
The alternator is where modern Swift bases need a little extra thought. Euro 6E Ford Transit and Fiat Ducato engines both run variable-voltage smart alternators that will not reliably fill a lithium battery on their own. The fix is a DC-DC charger, also called a battery-to-battery charger, wired between the starter battery and the leisure bank. We would fit a Victron Orion every time - it gives the lithium a clean, controlled charge and protects the starter battery from being drawn down. A standard split-charge relay does work and many Swifts already have one, but it is not the most reliable way to charge lithium and some relays cause a backfeed that quietly skims around the top 15% off your usable capacity. Feeding straight off the alternator with no relay and no DC-DC is not something we recommend.
Plan the roof with the solar sizing guide, check your existing charger against the compatibility list, and size the battery around the gap your charging sources cannot cover overnight. Every TITAN carries a custom BMS with a built-in low-temperature heater so it charges safely down to -30C, and comes with a lifetime, fully transferable warranty.
