Does Victron have any plans to release a Multi RS 48/6000 without MPPTs?

Been wondering about this myself for a while, to be honest.

I've got a fairly well-established solar setup on the narrowboat — Victron SmartSolar MPPTs already doing the heavy lifting on the PV side — and the idea of a high-frequency inverter/charger in the 5-6kVA range that doesn't bundle in redundant MPPT functionality is genuinely appealing. You're essentially paying for hardware you'd never use.

The Multi RS Solar is clearly aimed at clean-sheet installs where everything comes from Victron in one tidy box. Fair enough for that market. But for those of us who've already invested in properly sized MPPT controllers — whether that's Victron's own kit or something like Renogy — the integrated PV inputs feel like a limitation dressed up as a feature. The current ratings on the RS Solar's built-in MPPTs are modest too, so anyone with a serious array is going to hit a ceiling pretty quickly.

A stripped-down Multi RS — just the HF inverter/charger core with Cerbo/VE.Can integration — would make a lot of sense for retrofit situations. Static caravan installs, boats, off-grid cabins where the DC architecture is already sorted.

Has anyone actually raised this with Victron directly or posted on their community forum? They're generally quite responsive to product feedback, especially where there's a clear gap in the lineup. I'd imagine others in similar situations — particularly in the narrowboat and EV charging crossover space where loads are getting heavier — would back this up.

Curious whether anyone's found a practical workaround in the meantime, or whether it's a case of waiting and watching Victron's roadmap.

@PennineNomad same boat here (literally, tiny house on water situation)

Had the same frustration when speccing my system — already had a pair of SmartSolars doing exactly what I needed, the integrated MPPTs in the Multi RS felt like paying twice for something I didn't want.

From what I've seen Victron seem pretty committed to the RS range being an all-in-one proposition. Doubt they'll release a stripped-back version tbh — not their usual product strategy.

Realistically if you've already got MPPTs sorted, a Quattro or MultiPlus-II with your existing SmartSolars talking over VE.Can is probably the cleaner route anyway. The integration is seamless and you're not fighting duplicate hardware.

Might be worth posting on the Victron Community forum directly — occasionally their product team does actually respond there.

@PennineNomad totally get this — already having quality MPPTs in place and then being "forced" into the integrated ones feels like paying twice really.

From what I've seen browsing Victron's roadmap chatter, nothing official has been announced. The Multi RS Solar seems pretty intentional as an all-in-one play for fresh installs.

Realistically your best workaround might just be the MultiPlus-II paired with your existing SmartSolars via VE.Can/VE.Direct — keeps everything talking nicely in VictronConnect and you're not doubling up on MPPT hardware you don't need.

Not as slick as a single unit but honestly it works a treat. Running exactly that kind of setup in my van and the integration is solid. 🔋

Worth posting the question directly on the Victron Community forum too — their engineers do actually respond sometimes.

My shepherd's hut setup screams the same frustration — already had two Victron SmartSolars wired in perfectly before I even looked at the Multi RS specs, felt like being sold a printer with ink cartridges you'll never use.

Victron's official line seems to be that the integrated MPPTs are core to the RS architecture, so holding your breath for a stripped-down version might leave you slightly purple. The Quattro 48/5000 route with separate MPPTs is probably where they'd quietly point you — costs more, weighs more, but at least you're not paying twice for MPPT capability you've already got bolted to the roof.

@PennineNomad and @LiFePO4Fan — worth raising it directly on the Victron Community forum; their engineers actually read it, which is more than can be said for most manufacturers.

Narrowboat owner here too, so this hits close to home — quite literally given I'm writing this from a 58-footer somewhere near Stoke.

My emergency backup setup already has dedicated SmartSolar controllers doing exactly what they should. The idea of paying the Multi RS premium essentially for MPPT capacity I'd never use feels like buying a Swiss Army knife when you've already got a perfectly good blade.

Has anyone actually put this to Victron directly via their dealer network? I keep meaning to ask my local installer but never quite get round to it. Victron's dealer communication seems like the most realistic route to getting this flagged as genuine customer demand rather than just forum grumbling — not that forum grumbling isn't a noble pursuit in itself.

Would a stripped-down Multi RS actually be cheaper, or would they just price it identically anyway? 🤔

@PennineNomad worth noting that Victron's own roadmap discussions on the Victron Community forum have touched on this — the consensus from their developers seems to be that the Multi RS architecture is fundamentally built around the integrated MPPTs, so a stripped-down inverter-only variant seems unlikely in the near term.

That said, the Quattro 48/5000 or 48/8000 paired with your existing SmartSolars is arguably the cleaner solution anyway — you retain full independent MPPT configuration, no compromise on string sizing, and the Quattro's dual-AC-input is genuinely useful on a narrowboat for marina hookup switching.

I ran exactly this combination on my static caravan setup before upgrading — SmartSolar 150/35 doing the PV work, Quattro handling inversion and shore power. Zero overlap, everything visible cleanly through Cerbo GX. Proper separation of concerns rather than an integrated unit trying to do everything.