Build your protection system
Boat & RV Guardian runs on affordable, off-the-shelf LinkTap and Shelly hardware. Pick a ready-made kit or add components as you grow — every part below shows an estimated price.
Prices are estimates and vary by region. Buying through these affiliate links helps support the project at no extra cost to you.Location & Motion
Know where your rig is and whether it has moved — theft, a dragging anchor, or a break-in.
GPS via your cellular gateway
Most of the LTE gateways on the Vehicle Connectivity page (GL.iNet X-series, Teltonika RUT) have built-in GPS. The box you already need to keep sensors online doubles as a location + geofence anti-theft beacon — no separate tracker to buy.
ℹ️ GPS location, the anchor alarm and the theft security zone all work today, off the cellular gateway — no extra hardware to buy.
Flood & High Water
Drop sensors in every low spot and get an alarm the second water shows up.
Shelly Flood Gen4
A low-cost, battery-powered Wi-Fi sensor. Place it in bilges, sumps, or under sinks to catch leaks instantly and trigger alarms.
Battery Monitoring
Watch house and starter banks so a dead battery never strands you — or your bilge pump.
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12V Battery Monitoring Kit
The complete package to wire into your 12V system safely, with battery protection built in.
- Shelly Plus Uni
- Inline Fused Wiring Harness
- Waterproof Junction Box
Shelly Plus Uni
Wires into your 12V house and starter systems for constant, precision voltage monitoring and status detection.
Inline Fused Wiring Harness
Fused ring-terminal leads to wire the Shelly Uni safely onto your battery terminals — the inline fuse protects the circuit.
Waterproof Junction Box
An IP65-rated enclosure to mount and weatherproof the Shelly Uni and its wiring in exposed or damp 12V installs.
Shore Power Monitoring
Know the instant the marina or campground drops power — before your fridge does.
Shelly PM Mini Gen3
A compact AC power meter. Wire it to your shore power line to track voltage and consumption and get instant black-out notifications.
Temperature & Humidity
Catch a freeze before pipes burst and condensation before it turns to mold — with sensors that cost less than a tank of fuel.
Shelly Plus H&T
Battery-powered Wi-Fi temperature + humidity sensor. Set it in the cabin, engine bay, or bilge for freeze warnings and mold-risk alerts. Reports on change, so a battery lasts many months.
DS18B20 Probe (add-on)
A waterproof wired temperature probe that plugs into a Shelly Plus Uni you already have for battery monitoring — cheap way to watch a fridge, freezer, engine, or water heater.
Cameras
Someone moves at the boat, you get told — motion becomes an alert alongside everything else Guardian watches.
Reolink wired PoE camera
A wired Reolink PoE camera pointed at the companionway, door, or deck. Motion becomes a Guardian security alert; live view and playback stay in Reolink's own app. Plans include 1 camera on Dockside, up to 8 on Cruiser.
ℹ️ Wired PoE models only: Reolink's battery and LTE cameras can't send the alerts Guardian needs, and a camera recording to an NVR or Home Hub can't either — cameras connect straight to your onboard router.
Switches & Comfort
Fans, lights, anything on a relay — flipped from anywhere.
Put a fan or the lights on a Shelly relay (the 12 V-friendly Plus 1 family) and turn them on from the app — cool the boat down on the ride back. On the roadmap; the hardware will be the same off-the-shelf Shelly gear as everything else here.
City Water Control
On a city-water hookup: meter every gallon and slam the valve shut the instant a line lets go. The valve — adding it and controlling it — comes with any paid plan.
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City Water Protection Kit
Everything you need to monitor and control your water hookup in one bundle.
- LinkTap G2S Smart Valve
- Wi-Fi Gateway
LinkTap G2S Smart Valve
Use the G2S (or newer G1S/G4S) — its built-in flow meter tracks exact gallons used and enables volume-based shutoffs older models can't do.
LinkTap Gateway
Bridges your Wi-Fi to the valve over Zigbee and exposes the Local API endpoints for instant, cloud-free control.
ℹ️ Skip this whole category if you never hook to a spigot — everything else Guardian does works without it.
What a full setup costs
The core app is free. (Optional hosted cloud plans for remote access, history, and alerts start at $3/mo.) Here's a typical end-to-end build. Mix and match to fit your rig; you don't need every category.
*Estimates only — prices vary by region and retailer. The core app is free; hosted cloud plans are optional (see Pricing).
Hardware in hand? Follow the quick start and the hardware setup guide to get protected.