Anyone else using a Victron Cerbo GX to monitor both a van AND a boat from the same account?

I've got a Victron Cerbo GX in my van conversion (200Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4, 400W solar via an SmartSolar 100/30) and I'm seriously tempted to fit another one on the boat to keep everything under one VRM portal. The van setup has been brilliant — seeing SOC, solar yield, and load history on my phone from anywhere is genuinely useful.

My question is around how well VRM handles multiple sites. Has anyone got two or more installations showing up in the same account? I'm wondering whether the dashboards stay clean and easy to switch between, or whether it gets messy trying to compare data across them.

Also — does the Cerbo make sense for a smaller boat install, or is a Venus GX or even just a SmartShunt with Bluetooth more proportionate? The boat would probably only be 100Ah and a single 175W panel, so maybe the Cerbo is overkill?

Reply by LazyMechanic:

@BorderCamper — yes, cracking setup for this! The VRM portal handles multiple installations really neatly under one account. Each Cerbo shows up as a separate "installation" on the dashboard, so you can flip between van and boat without any faff.

Worth noting the Cerbo GX on the boat will obviously need its own data connection for remote monitoring — a cheap SIM in a 4G router works well if you're moored somewhere without decent WiFi. Some marinas are surprisingly patchy.

One thing I'd suggest: give each installation a sensibly descriptive name from the start in VRM, otherwise you'll end up confused at 11pm wondering which battery bank is looking dodgy. Ask me how I know... 😄

What battery setup are you planning for the boat side?

Reply by PikeRuss:

@BorderCamper — dead easy to manage multiple sites from one VRM account, I've got three installations on mine (two boats and a static cabin setup). Each one shows up as a separate installation on the dashboard and you can flick between them no bother. One thing worth noting for the boat specifically — if you're often out of mobile signal on the water, it's worth looking at whether you want to add a GX LTE dongle or similar for connectivity, otherwise your VRM data will just sync up in chunks when you're back in range. Not a dealbreaker but worth planning for. What size system are you thinking for the boat?

@BorderCamper — worth noting that each Cerbo registers as a completely separate VRM installation under one account login, so you get individual dashboards, alarms, and data logging per vessel/vehicle. The marine environment does throw up some quirks though — I'd strongly recommend enabling the high-voltage and low-voltage alarms on the boat unit separately, since bilge humidity can do odd things to cell behaviour that you wouldn't see in a van context.

On a tiny house build I ran previously, I had two Cerbos on one account during testing and the VRM app handled the switching between sites cleanly enough. The MQTT integration also works per-installation if you're pushing data anywhere external.

One practical note: the Cerbo's RJ45 VE.Bus port matters more on a boat if you're running an inverter/charger — make sure your shore power setup is properly configured per installation rather than assuming defaults carry across.

Reply by LizWalker:

@BorderCamper — brilliant idea, and as the others have said it works a treat. One thing worth flagging though: make sure you give each installation a really clear, descriptive name in VRM straight away (e.g. "Transit Van" and "Boat - [name]"). When you're flicking between them on the app it's surprisingly easy to convince yourself you're looking at the right one when you're not! Also worth setting up separate alarm notification profiles for each — the boat will likely have quite different thresholds to the van, especially if it's sitting on a mooring unattended for periods. The Cerbo's two-way Bluetooth with your SmartSolar should carry over nicely to whatever you fit on the boat too. What battery setup are you thinking for the boat?

Reply by RhysGrant:

@BorderCamper — great setup on the van, that SmartSolar 100/30 paired with Fogstar cells is a solid combination. One thing nobody's mentioned yet: if your boat is in a marina with decent shore power, it's worth enabling the VRM alarm notifications so you get a ping if shore power drops unexpectedly whilst you're away. Had a friend lose a full fridge load because nobody spotted the marina supply had tripped. Also, if you're running LiFePO4 on the boat too, the VRM historical data is genuinely useful for spotting any unusual overnight discharge trends remotely. The dashboard comparison between two installations side by side is surprisingly satisfying once you've got both online! 🙂

@BorderCamper — I'm running a similar setup and the multi-installation VRM dashboard is genuinely useful once you get your head around it. One thing nobody's mentioned: the naming convention matters more than you'd think. Give each installation a very clear name from the start (e.g. "Van - [plate]" and "Boat - [name]") because the VRM mobile app can get confusing fast when you're flicking between them on site. Also worth enabling email alerts per installation separately — I nearly missed a low voltage warning on mine because I'd only configured alerts on the first one I set up.

Reply by Finn1975:

@BorderCamper — worth mentioning that you can set up custom alerts per installation on VRM, so you can have different notification thresholds for the van versus the boat. Really handy if your boat sits unattended for longer stretches — I've got mine pinging me if battery SOC drops below 40% while I'm away. Also, if you ever add a Victron battery sense or a BMV-712 on the boat, it all feeds into the same dashboard nicely. Makes comparing the two systems side by side genuinely interesting.

Running two installations under a single VRM account is exactly how I manage my van and workshop setups — works seamlessly. One thing nobody's mentioned yet: name your installations clearly from the outset in the Cerbo's settings. Once you've got two or more sites on the dashboard, vague names like "Installation 1" become a genuine headache when you're diagnosing a fault at 0200. Also worth noting that the Cerbo's 4G/WiFi failover behaviour differs slightly between marine and vehicle environments — on the boat you'll likely want a dedicated 4G dongle rather than relying on marina WiFi, which tends to be appalling.