# swift kontiki 610 leisure battery



## davlins (Sep 10, 2011)

hello all. I have a 2005 Swift Kontiki 610 with a 85w leisure battery coming to the end of its days. Can anyone advise re the following :

1.Will the battery location take a 105w Trojan battery. My location is on the middle of the floor just behind the front seats 

2. To those who have a 2nd leisure battery in situ - where did you site it ? I telephoned Swift and unbelievably they told me that such a situation wasn't part of their thinking in the original technical planning ! 

Any help would be appreciated. 

Al


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Our 2003 615 now has two x 85w batteries - one under each of the two front seats, the size is critical as to what will fit there.

The original was under the driver's seat and I added the second under the passenger seat - both properly secured, fused and connected etc. The key thing is the height since you obviously do not want the spring part of the seat to get anywhere near the terminals and cause a short circuit......

I fitted two matched new ones at the same time when the original was failing, it does require having the ability to remove the seats to get them in, that requires a torque wrench to ensure the correct replacement values for safety of the seat. A socket set and a set of torc drives was needed as it was also essential to release the handbrake assembly from the side of the driver's seat. 

Happy to give more details if you want / need.

Dave


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Can one not use space in one of the lockers, rather than be restricted by the lack of space under the seat, then maybe have two batteries.

cabby


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## TerryL (Feb 19, 2009)

When I added a second battery, I bought a through-the-floor battery box from CAK Tanks in Kenilworth and got Dave Newell to fit it under the offside lounge seat locker and do the necessary wiring. The original is under the nearside seat locker in the Bolero so it balanced it all out nicely.

Not sure about the Kon-Tiki but I would guess you could do something similar.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

He has not been back since he posted that OP yesterday evening, he is not a subscriber so the PM system cannot be used all anyone can do is wait and see whether he reappears......

Dave


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## davlins (Sep 10, 2011)

Hello and thanks to all who replied. Apologies for the late reply .I did try and personally thank each of the respondents but wasn't able to being a non member I didn't realise that this was a fee membership forum. 
With regard to siting a 2nd battery under the front seat- this is not practical given the van seating design .As to the original battery siting it is on the floor in the walkway approx.4 ft from front seat . With regards to the post by Cabby- are you talking about the wardrobe area or the gas bottle locker area or ? .


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Thanks for the reply, I find it odd that you say that under the front seat is not practical as that is exactly where it was located by Swift for our first leisure battery under the driver's seat, and where the second one now resides under the front passenger seat.......

the key thing is to have the correct size battery to fit there.....

You say it is ON THE FLOOR approx. 4' from the front seat? Is it just secured there or is it in a chamber cut down into the inter-floor space?

That certainly seems very odd to me - we have looked at dozens of Kontikis of various specifications and I have NEVER seen a battery installed as you say........ 

Is it possible that a previous owner put it there as it could not fit under the seat due to him having bought a battery that was too large to fit? 

The only conceivable reason that I can think of NOT to fit under the seat is if you have swivelling front seats installed - which would preclude the space being available under the seats........

I realise that the number of posts you can make is limited to 5 unless you subscribe (which I consider to be the best small sum of money that we spent when we bought our MH - it repaid itself with my first post from the helpful advice given negating the need to take the MH back to the dealers to sort out a small problem)

Dave


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## jonse (Nov 2, 2008)

*battery*

Had the same problm with having to remove the seat on my swift sundance, so I took a jig saw to the rear part of the seat where the battery was and removed it, I can now remove the battery from the back of the seat did the same on the passenger's seat so i could fit a second battery if and when I wanted, then got some captive nuts and fitted them in the square hols already there and fitted a small box in ply to hide the the bit I had removed, I think I did post this ,


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## bmb1uk (Jul 8, 2009)

my swift kontiki has 2 x110 low level batteries under the seats, no problems.


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## davlins (Sep 10, 2011)

Hi Penquin- this van was bought by me new and first registered in nov 2005. The original battery is still in its original location - in a chamber cut down into the inter-floor space-exactly 2ft behind the front seat and almost in a direct line if you entered through the habitation side door. 
The van lay out is as follows -walking from front to rear 
DRIVERS SIDE 

driver seat (fixed)
shower room and bathroom
wardrobe 

PASSENGER SIDE 
passenger front seat(fixed) 
exit via side door 
electric oven and 4 gas hob
sink area 

RE BMB 1UK - that is interesting .Is yours a 2 person or 4-6 person spec?


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## bmb1uk (Jul 8, 2009)

davlins said:


> Hi Penquin- this van was bought by me new and first registered in nov 2005. The original battery is still in its original location - in a chamber cut down into the inter-floor space-exactly 2ft behind the front seat and almost in a direct line if you entered through the habitation side door.
> The van lay out is as follows -walking from front to rear
> DRIVERS SIDE
> 
> ...


Hi mine is a 2 seater, i have 3x 110ah batteries, 2 under the seats 3rd behind drivers seat, i have spacers under the drivers seat to lift it up so i can get a nornal battery under it BAZ.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

It certainly sounds as if under the seats is a place that is well worth serious consideration - others have batteries there, I am not doubting that yours is where you say it is, but if Swift were unable to make any helpful suggestion and others have used the under-seat option that would surely suggest serious investigation.

Ours is a 4 berth (although the only seat belts are on the driver's and the front passenger seat) so we would not use it for more than us two.......

The easier seat to remove is certainly the front passenger seat - there are four bolts to be removed (I have the torque values if you need them) which are not difficult with a suitable ratchet socket set + short extension, the seat then lifts straight off and can be easily removed - quite heavy to handle but I managed by myself, it is simply awkward and bulky to get out through the front passenger door.
.
That way cable runs to connect the two batteries can be kept as short as possible - using suitable thickness wire to ensure that the current can be carried safely. That would be my concern about trying to put one of the pair in the lockers or wardrobe since the cable run would be quite awkward and lengthy for such thick connecting cables which are fairly stiff to take around corners.

Do let us know what you decide,

Dave


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