Quick start

This walkthrough takes you from nothing to a working system: hardware connected, sensors reporting, thresholds set, and a live test at the end. Budget an afternoon for a full build; a water-only setup is quicker. Boat & RV Guardian is currently pre-alpha, so expect rough edges — and please report anything odd.

1. What you need

Guardian runs on off-the-shelf LinkTap and Shelly hardware. You don’t need every category — start with what matters most for your rig and add the rest later.

A typical full build lands around $265–290 in hardware, one-time. The core app is free. See Supported Devices for kits, exact models, and purchase links, and Hardware setup for per-device install guides.

2. Install the app

The app runs everywhere; pick whatever you’ll actually have with you at the rig.

• Web: app.boatrvguardian.com — nothing to install, works in any browser.
• macOS & Windows: download the macOS installer or the Windows installer.
  First launch only: neither desktop build carries a paid signing certificate yet, so macOS says “developer cannot be verified” — right-click the app in Applications and choose Open, then confirm. On Windows, click More info › Run anyway at the SmartScreen notice.
• Android: grab the APK and sideload it. The Android app is worth having even if it’s not your daily driver — it’s the recommended way to provision Shelly sensors (step 5).
• iPhone & iPad: use the web app for now. A native iOS app is Coming soon.

3. Create your first vehicle

Everything in Guardian belongs to a vehicle — your boat or RV. Create one with a name and a type (Boat or RV). You can add more vehicles later; each keeps its own devices, settings, and plan.

Sign in and your per-vehicle settings sync across all your devices. Inviting people to a vehicle needs a paid plan on that vehicle, though being invited is always free. Paid plans also add automatic remote monitoring, hosted history, and extra alert destinations. Details: Cloud & local.

4. Connect the LinkTap gateway & valve

The LinkTap Gateway bridges your Wi-Fi network to the valve over Zigbee and exposes a local HTTP API, so the app controls water without touching the internet.

1. Power up the gateway indoors, within Wi-Fi range, and get it onto the same network your app device uses at the rig.
2. Pair the G2S valve to the gateway, then add the gateway in Guardian so the valve appears under your vehicle’s Water system.
3. Install the valve at the source spigot — the marina or campsite tap — not at your rig’s city-water inlet. Downstream of the spigot, the valve can’t stop a burst hose; at the spigot it protects the hose and everything after it.

Placement reasoning, flow metering, and troubleshooting: Hardware setup → LinkTap.

5. Provision your Shelly sensors

Each Shelly device (Flood Gen4, Plus Uni, PM Mini Gen3) needs to join your Wi-Fi once. Two paths:

• Bluetooth from the Android app (recommended): the app finds nearby factory-fresh Shelly devices and walks them onto your network — no juggling Wi-Fi access points.
• Wi-Fi AP / manual IP (works everywhere): join the sensor’s own setup access point, point it at your network, then add it in Guardian by IP address.

Once a sensor is on the network, add it to your vehicle and it slots into the matching system: flood sensors under Flood, the Plus Uni under Power (battery), the PM Mini under Power (shore). Physical mounting and wiring guidance is in Hardware setup — battery-powered flood sensors deep-sleep by design, so don’t worry if one looks quiet right after setup.

6. Set thresholds & notifications

With devices reporting, tell Guardian what “wrong” looks like for your rig:

• Water: every valve open carries a volume/duration limit — set a default that matches how you actually use water. This limit is the primary safeguard; read Water control & safety before you rely on it.
• Battery: pick your bank’s chemistry preset (Flooded, AGM, Gel, or LiFePO₄) at 12 V or 24 V, and apply a calibration offset if the reading differs from your multimeter.
• Notifications: local alerts work for everyone while the app is open, and away push with the app closed works on every tier, including Free. A Basic or Premium plan adds extra alert destinations (and SMS) — every vehicle can opt into one free month of Basic from the Account view if you want to try them.

7. Test everything

Don’t skip this. A protection system you’ve never tested is a hope, not a system.

1. Valve: open it from the app with a small volume/duration limit (opening from the app is a paid-plan feature — free while we’re in beta, and every vehicle gets a free Basic month; closing is free on every plan). Water should flow, then stop on its own when the limit is reached — that automatic stop is the behavior you’re counting on. Remember the ~15 s command lag.
2. Flood sensors: touch the probes with a damp cloth or dunk them in a glass of water. The alarm should appear in the app; watch the push notification arrive too.
3. Battery & shore power: confirm the voltage reading matches your multimeter, and check that the shore-power reading reacts when you switch a load on.

If all three pass, you’re protected. From here, explore the app’s Overview and Alerts views, or set up sharing if others use the rig.