Reviews

Mark and Patty Staal

Eric is completely awesome! From the first moment you meet him to the completion of the work order, you feel like you are in good hands. We did an upgrade to solar with lithium batteries for our Mercedes Sprinter (previously on AGM house batteries running solely on a DC DC charger). Eric was very patient from the start, explaining the various options available to us. The end result is a huge improvement----we can now run the fridge and fan 24/7, as well as run our Starlink and laptop. Highly recommend him!

Eric's notes: Maybe 1/2 of the time I do not recommend upgrading to Lithium due to layout and such. Fortunately for Mark, the layout worked outand the install nicely fitted in the area.

Troy Kling

Update May 28, 2026: Eric saved me again when my inverter had an internal fault. Massive 70lb unit mounted in a hard-to-access area of the van. He was able to take apart half of my electrical system, install a new fuse and fuse box, mount the new inverter, and get everything put back together in a single day. Working good as new now!

Update Nov 9, 2025: Eric helped me remount my water heater after it ripped off the wall on the way back from Vegas! He had to build a wooden stand from scratch and re-do some of the piping. He even added a new shut-off valve for me. Vanlife is good when you have Eric around to help out 😅

Original post: I recently bought a converted campervan in Portland, and I've received help from Eric at sbvanlife twice now -- first to get my solar panels back in working order after one panel ripped off in a wind storm, and a few days later to get a Victron shunt installed and fix some wiring issues. Both times, Eric was extremely helpful, kind, and professional. Not only did he fix the problems I mentioned, he also taught me how various systems worked and recommended future improvements. His expertise was honestly invaluable; I would be pretty lost without his help.

Eric charges very reasonable rates, and he is just all-around a good guy. I'll be coming back whenever I need help in the future!

I am beyond thrilled and so happy with the repairs Eric made to my van. Eric is extremely knowledgeable, patient and professional. I'm so grateful to have found him. It's too long to list all the components he helped me repair, modify and replace. It's tempting to keep him a secret so he doesn't get too busy. I highly recommend SBVanlife!!!

Eric's Note: The metal connection to the water pump was broken. Easy enough to find the problem, but took time to take off the water pump as connectors were inaccessible. Besides addressing the issues, I always try to do a thorough check on entire van to make sure nothing is amiss. Then uncovered a few design flaw such as lack of a drain water valve, no filter, corrison on water pump, battery monitor wasn't being utilized and such.

Lynne Estes

I would give Eric 10 stars if possible. He is calm, knowledgeable and professional. It turned out that the solenoid needed for our repair was in very short supply. But Eric kept calling supply shops and after the 6th call, he was able to find one. We met Eric the next morning at the parts shop and he installed it on the premises. It was an hour drive for him to that particular shop, but he was there at the appointed time. He was determined to help my daughter and me so that we could continue our trip with as little disruption as possible. We are grateful to Eric for his kindness and for his knowledge. He knows his stuff and I highly recommend his services.

Eric's note: Tough for them and luckily able to squeeze in my schedule a hour trip to Oxnard to get part and installed. Would have the company install it except they were slammed and hate to see their travel plan ruined.

Marlene Kent

Extremely knowledgeable on the whole electrical system, 12v and 120v inverter, explains everything. Installed Li battery and charger, top of the line electrical parts with cell phone monitoring, and includes fuses along the way to prevent overheating and fires. He stands by his work and offers advice and assistance if there are any future issues.

Eric's Note: What can I say? The setup she brought to me had several serious problems, some of which could have created unsafe situations. This is a good example of why I recommend having a van professionally inspected—especially the electrical system—before buying it.

Here are some of the problems I uncovered:

No wires connected to the shore power outlet — no wonder the battery wasn't charging!

Solar MPPT charger wasn't charging the battery.

No fuses protecting many of the electrical circuits — a major safety concern.

No remote control for the inverter, meaning the only way to turn it on or off was to crawl into the compartment.

A 120V refrigerator running from only a 100Ah battery — definitely not a practical setup for full-time vanlife.

Cables were unlabeled and inconsistently sized, making the system difficult to understand and troubleshoot.

The water tank gauge wasn't working.

I corrected these problems and upgraded the van with a new 12V refrigerator, Victron solar charger, alternator charger, and a 300Ah battery.

Just as importantly, I educated her on how to monitor and maintain her electrical system and went over the ins and outs of living on the road.

Now I feel much better knowing her van is safer, more reliable, and ready for her to hit the road and enjoy full-time vanlife!

Madeline

Thank you so much for helping me out in a time of need. Having a van problem on vacation is never ideal, but especially rigth before a flight. You saved the day. I cannot thank you enough. The awning is doing great now!

Eric's note: Loved the card my customer gave me. Awnings are the biggest problems with many of my customers. Dometic probudc If you buy an awning, be sure to get manual and not electric.

Tim Smith & Jenna Athey

Eric was great. I particularly appreciate it all his ideas for things that I could do to improve my van and make it last for a long time.

Eric helped us with the electrical installation for our van upgrade, he was available on our short timeline and got the work done promptly. Having someone knowledgeable to set up the electrical was critical to our upgrade, and we’re grateful he was available and enthusiastic to get it done!

Ron Boyd

Eric of SB Van life is an amazing technician.He got to the bottom of many problems in my my 2007 Pleasure Way Sprinter.He is patient, persistent and an excellent communicator.He saved our trip up the coast . I'm
Very blessed to have been able to see Him on short notice.

Robin Chilton

Took a while to troubleshoot the problem. His van had a nice clean setup, but unfortunately a broken battery switch masked the solar system was keeping the inverter and everything running sometimes. Many advertise 200–300A but may not handle continuous high inverter loads or cause high internal resistance. This can create voltage drop and heat. Some of them have poor contact quality and thin copper contacts that wear or pit over time. I highly recommend victron, Blue Sea or BEP marine battery switch

Brian Kittle

Eric went the full mile to diagnose the inverter problem and discovered it was a triple whammy. It wasn’t just the inverter that had failed—the control panel and the communication cable had failed as well. He thoroughly tested everything, confirmed that all three components were bad, and replaced them all.

The inverter was heavy and mounted underneath the van, making the replacement especially difficult. Eric brought in a second person, and the two of them worked laboriously on their backs under the van to remove the old inverter and install the new one.

I watched the entire process, and it was clearly a tough job. I’m very grateful for Eric’s hard work and, especially, his thoroughness in checking the entire system rather than simply replacing the inverter and assuming the problem was solved. Great work!

Jonathan Brecheisen

I can’t say enough good things about SBVanLife Mobile RV Mechanic. I rent RVs on Outdoorsy, and one of my renters had a solenoid failure while traveling through Southern California. Being an owner in Oregon, it’s incredibly stressful when something breaks on the road.Eric made the entire situation easy.
He responded quickly, communicated clearly with both me and my renters, and immediately inspired confidence. He drove out to their campsite, diagnosed the charging issue, and then went above and beyond—locating the correct solenoid and meeting them the next day to install it.

My renters told me they felt completely comfortable with him, and I could tell he genuinely cared about getting them back on the road safely.
His fairness, honesty, and professionalism turned a potential trip‑ruining problem into a minor hiccup.If you’re looking for a dependable mobile RV mechanic who treats customers right, SBVanLife is the real deal.

Eric's Notes: Marine West was one of my favorite stores, and sadly, it recently closed in Santa Barbara. Even before it closed, finding certain specialty parts locally could be difficult. In this case, I needed a heavy-duty solenoid and had to call about five different places before finally locating one. The closest options were about an hour north in Santa Maria or an hour south in Ventura. I agreed to drive south with them to pick up the part and then install it.

Frank Strauss

Eric got my electrical system up and running again on my 2021 Promaster Roadtrek Play. We had to work with a pretty old-school electrical system from factory and Eric went above and beyond to go through the system and add much-needed solar panels and a shunt to it. It was a great experience working with Eric and I'm looking forward to the next improvements to my van with him.