Anyone running lithium on a narrowboat AND a campervan — same BMS setup?

I'm in an odd situation where I'm trying to sort the leisure battery setup on both my narrowboat and a campervan I've just picked up, and I'm wondering whether I can standardise on the same BMS and battery approach across both.

Currently eyeing up Fogstar Drift 100Ah cells for the van — 2 in parallel for 200Ah. The boat already has a Victron SmartShunt and a Cerbo GX, so ideally I'd want the van to talk the same language. Has anyone daisy-chained Victron kit across two separate builds or is that just asking for trouble?

The van will mostly be weekends away, the boat is more of a liveaboard situation, so charge cycles and demands are pretty different. Does that change which BMS you'd go for, or is something like the Daly or JK BMS solid enough for the lighter-use van build?

Would it make sense to just replicate the boat setup scaled down, or is that overkill for a campervan that might sit unused for 3 weeks at a time?

RhysLee78 | 847 posts | ⚡ Solar Enthusiast

@ForestDweller I'm running a similar dual-vehicle situation — motorhome and a small cabin setup rather than a narrowboat, but I'd say standardising on the same BMS family makes sense, just not necessarily identical specs.

The key difference you'll hit is that narrowboats often want 12v or 24v 200-400Ah banks with robust alternator charging from a decent-sized engine, whereas campervans tend to have smaller banks and fussier charging sources (smaller alternators, variable solar).

I'd look at Daly or JK BMS units — both are configurable enough to suit either setup, and the app interfaces are the same across their range, which makes life much easier when you're switching between vehicles mentally.

What chemistry are you going for — prismatic LiFePO4 cells? That'd make standardisation considerably more straightforward.

KangooWanderer | 1,203 posts | 🚐 Converted Kangoo + Narrowboat

@ForestDweller I'm literally in your exact situation — Kangoo camper and a 57ft narrowboat, both running LiFePO4. The BMS itself can be identical hardware, but your charge parameters will need tweaking per application. Narrowboat alternators are a different beast — most are massive old things that'll hammer a BMS expecting gentle campervan currents. I'd strongly recommend a dedicated DC-DC charger on the boat side regardless of which BMS you go with.

What cell capacity are you thinking? My Kangoo's on a 100Ah and the boat's 280Ah, same BMS brand but configured separately. Worked a treat once I sorted the alternator protection on the boat. What alternator are you working with on the narrowboat engine?

BrookLover | 312 posts | 🔋 Battery Obsessive

The BMS doesn't care whether it's floating on a canal or hurtling down the M6 — same Daly or JK unit works fine in both, just mind your vibration tolerance ratings on the van side because narrowboats are basically floating caravans compared to pothole Britain.

EdStewart | 562 posts | ⚡ Off-Grid Tinkerer

One thing worth flagging that I haven't seen mentioned yet — the vibration environment differs quite a bit between the two applications. Canal life is relatively gentle, but a campervan on B-roads is another story entirely. Worth making sure whatever BMS you go with has connectors that are properly rated for vibration, and that your cell interconnects are torqued correctly and checked periodically. I had a bus bar work slightly loose on my van build after a particularly brutal stretch of Scottish road and the BMS threw a fit. Wouldn't necessarily have been an issue sitting in a marina.

Also consider your charge sources — does the narrowboat run a Beta or similar engine alternator? The charging profile expectations might differ from your van's setup and it's worth mapping that out before you commit to a single BMS model. @KangooWanderer might have thoughts on this given their setup.

EdStewart | 562 posts | ⚡ Off-Grid Tinkerer

One thing worth flagging that I haven't seen mentioned yet — the vibration tolerance of your BMS is worth checking if you're genuinely sharing hardware between the two. Narrowboats are relatively gentle on components, but a campervan doing B-roads is a different story. Some cheaper BMS units aren't rated for sustained vibration and can develop dry joints on the PCB over time. I'd look for something with conformal coating on the board if you're going that route.

Also worth considering: your boat may have shore power charging involved, which could mean different charge profiles hitting the same spec BMS. Not a dealbreaker, just make sure whatever you choose handles multiple charge sources cleanly. @KangooWanderer presumably you've worked through this already — curious what you landed on?

RelaySolar | 847 posts | ☀️ Narrowboat Spark

Running Fogstar Drift 200Ah on the boat and a Renogy 100Ah in the van — both talking to Victron kit, both using the same laptop to argue with them at 2am when something trips. The real difference nobody mentions: narrowboat alternator charging is brutal on lithium without a proper DC-DC isolator, whereas the van's a doddle by comparison. Get a Victron Orion-Tr Smart on the boat engine circuit or your BMS will spend its whole life in a sulk.

PeteJames | 1,203 posts | 🔋 Narrowboat & Van Obsessive

Been running exactly this dual-life setup for two years. The key difference nobody mentions is vibration tolerance — the van environment is genuinely harsher than the boat. My Victron SmartBMS handles both installs but I run separate battery banks: Fogstar Drift cells on the narrowboat (rock solid in that environment), and a more ruggedised pack in the van where road vibration over months will stress cell-to-cell connections far more than gentle canal cruising ever would.

Check your BMS's vibration rating before assuming one solution fits both worlds.