I Know a Guy RV Repair Company Conference 2026

Dauphin Island, Alabama, May 18-25, 2026

These guys—recently retired—spent seven weeks together in November, 2024 at the National RV Training Academy, learning the ins and outs of RV service and repair. Since then, each has gone on to make his mark as a Mobile RV Technician in a different part of the country. But even as they hit the road solo, they stayed connected. Whenever one of them faced a tricky customer question, the answer was often, "I'm not sure, but I know a guy who can help." That simple phrase became their go-to—and their group chat became a lifeline for real-time troubleshooting and support. And just like that, the “I Know a Guy” Annual Reunion was born. This year, because we have all formed businesses, our Reunion has evolved into an annual Conference. We met at Bay Palms RV Resort on Dauphin Island, Alabama.

Louie and Lisa were unable to attend this year, and we sorely missed our honorary members Brian Salter and Albert, who we know enjoyed watching our activities from Heaven.

Day 1-May 18

• Set up and welcome activities 

• Work Session 1-class A airbags, electric entry step repair

• Teambuilding session 1-Go @#$% Yourself Competition

• Meals on your own

Even on the first night, the guys immediately settled into a familiar RV ritual: chasing down minor mechanical mysteries. First on the list was the entry step on Brian and Sandy’s rig, which, thankfully, needed only a little troubleshooting and a quick repair before it was working again.

Day. 2-May 19

• Work Session 2-7-pin trailer light troubleshooting

• Work Session 3-cable drain valves

• Teambuilding Session 2-scouted the five beaches of Dauphin Island, pool time

• Team Meal -chicken Alfredo, garlic bread, peach margarita, beer

I didn’t realize until we reached Dauphin Island that one small strip of sand could hold so many different versions of the coast. Every beach felt like its own little world, changing every few miles depending on which side of the island we were standing on.

The pier leading toward Middle Beach felt endless, stretching straight out across the sand long after I expected to see water beneath it. Instead, the whole landscape below us was wide flats of pale sand, scrub grass, and winding patches of marsh that looked like they changed shape with every tide and storm.

By the time we reached the end, the parking lot and road behind us had nearly disappeared into the heat haze, but the beach itself still felt far away.

There was something beautiful about that long walk. The pier carried us over dunes tufted with sea oats bending in the wind, across stretches of dry sand marked with bird tracks and driftwood, until eventually the Gulf finally revealed itself beyond the last rise. Even then, we had to climb down and keep walking, crossing soft dunes where the sand pulled at our shoes and the breeze carried the smell of salt and warm grass.

It made reaching the water feel earned. Like the island was slowly separating us from everything else before allowing us onto the beach. By the time we finally stepped onto the shoreline, with the Gulf opening wide in front of us, it felt quiet, remote, deserted.

The farther we walked, the quieter everything became. Conversations faded. Even the sounds from shore disappeared behind the wind. By the end of the pier it felt like we were suspended between worlds — the island behind us, the Gulf ahead, and nothing in between except weathered wood and open air.

The giant boulders at the East End looked almost out of place at first, piled along the shoreline beside the soft white sand like somebody had dropped part of a mountain into the Gulf. We climbed out on them on our first evening near Fort Gaines while the tide pushed and hissed through the gaps in the rocks below us. The stones were sun-bleached and rough beneath our hands, warm from the day’s heat, and each one seemed worn smooth in places by years of storms and saltwater.

People scattered themselves across the rocks quietly — fishermen balancing with coolers and rods, kids hopping from boulder to boulder, couples sitting side by side watching the ships move through the channel toward Mobile Bay. From up there, the island felt different.

What I remember most was the sound. Waves crashing against rock instead of sand changed everything. The water didn’t roll in softly there; it slammed, echoed, and sprayed upward in bursts that smelled sharply of salt and seaweed.

Day 3-May 20

• Work Session 4-air conditioners, tankless water heaters

• Teambuilding Session 4- South Beach, ice cream, pool time

• Team Meal-Shrimp Boil with Boudin & fresh tomato appetizer, raspberry margarita, beer

On Day 3, we spent several hours on the main public beach, which reminded me of summers when time moves slower. We hauled Sandy's wagon through the sand, our coolers snapped open, and the sun baked salt and sand into our skin. We spent hours there without really noticing the time passing, drifting between the water and our chairs while the afternoon heat settled over everything.

We finished the day with a true Texas Shrimp Boil - a first time experience for the folks from Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Day 4-May 21

• Work Session 5-Trailer Hitches

• Teambuilding Session 5-Girls spa day with Foxy’s Waffle Bar and Sugar Den brunch; guys visit Fort Gaines with lunch at  Capt’n Snapper’s Marina Bar and Grill

• Team Meal-Chicken Fried Rice, grapefruit margarita, beer

Day four turned into the perfect balance of maintenance and vacation — which seems to happen naturally anytime this group meets up. The morning started with another work session, this time focused on trailer hitches. These are not a normal campground repair session: tools spread out on picnic tables, everyone offering opinions, and a quiet confidence that eventually somebody will figure out whatever the issue is.

In late morning, our group split into different versions of relaxation. The girls claimed the day for ourselves with  brunch at Foxy's Waffle Bar & Sugar Den,

where oversized waffles felt perfectly appropriate after a few days of travel, followed by a spa outing at Sun Kissed Salon and Boutique , where we received attentive care alongside a glimpse into life of locals on the island. This was small-town Alamaba at its best! We ended with a visit to the local farmer's market, Market in Green Park.

Meanwhile, the guys headed back toward Fort Gaines, wandering the old brick corridors before settling in for lunch at Capt'n Snapper's Marina Bar & Grill overlooking the water.

Built in the early 1800s and best known for its role in the Civil War during the Battle of Mobile Bay, the fort still carries that sense of urgency in its design. You can see it in the thick brick walls, the angled gun positions facing the channel, and especially in the narrow spiral concrete staircase that winds upward inside the fort like a hidden passage through time.

At the top, the structure stretches out over the water, like the whole fort was built not just on land, but pressed right up against the Gulf itself—watching, waiting, and holding its place at the mouth of the bay

When we asked about the fort, the guys were completely absorbed in the strange details that make old places feel real. It wasn’t the cannons or battle stories they talked about first — it was the long row of solid wooden toilet seats built over the old latrines, lined up side by side with absolutely no privacy whatsoever.

Apparently the tide used to wash through beneath them each day, carrying everything back out to the bay. Crude, efficient, and probably miserable, but standing there made it suddenly easier to picture the fort as a place where people actually lived, worked, sweated, and endured long stretches of boredom between moments of fear.

They also talked about the spiral cement staircase winding tightly upward inside the fort walls.

That evening everyone came back together around the campground for chicken fried rice, cold beer, and grapefruit margaritas as the sun went down.

Day 5-May 22

• Work Session 6-QuickBooks & Tax Planning

• Teambuilding Session 6-Cornhole Competition, pool time

• Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches, On the Rocks cocktails

Day 5 settled into a rhythm that felt both practical and relaxed. Our morning work session focused on QuickBooks and tax planning, spreadsheets and projections spread out with coffee cups and laptops sharing space on picnic tables. It wasn’t the most scenic part of the trip, but it was the kind of behind-the-scenes work that makes the rest of the freedom possible.

By afternoon, everything shifted back into vacation mode. The cornhole boards came out and quickly turned into a full competition, equal parts skill and friendly trash talk, with games running long enough that nobody seemed in a hurry to do anything else. Jerry is the certified champion of both single and double play.

The pool offered a slower pace in between rounds—floating, laughing, drifting conversations.

Later, everyone gathered again for Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, followed by On the Rocks cocktails provided by Brian and Sandy. Who knew there were coctails with our very own brand?

Day 6-May 23

• Work Session 7-Wheel bearings, brakes

• Teambuilding Session 7-Explore Historic Mobile

• Team Meal-Leftover Potluck

Day 6 began with the steady, unglamorous work of wheel bearings and brake discussion: jacks, lug nuts, wheels, and all kinds of practical problem-solving tips and advice.

In late morning, we headed into Mobile and for a much different kind of attention—history layered over itself in brick and shadow. We started at Mardi Gras Park, then moved through History Museum of Mobile

We strolled through exhibits that leaned deeper into interpretation and memory—murals like Power of Education and Local Opinion,

along with civil rights displays that spoke plainly about the value of a human life and the weight of that history in this place.

Even the hollowed-out canoes felt like part of that continuum—simple, enduring tools tied to a much older way of moving through this coastal world.

Next, we visited Colonial Fort Conde and took a guided tour of the Condé-Charlotte Museum House, where narrow rooms and preserved details carry the city’s long and complicated past as a French, British, and Spanish outpost. TOURIST TIP: We purchased an all-in-one pass a the visitor center. It is not well advertised, but it provides access to 10+ sites for one price. We didn't see them all, but the ticket more than paid for itself.

Lunch was at Squid Ink, where we sat outside at the swinging street tables, watching downtown drift past while enjoying our drinks and appetizers.

Later, we made our way to Battleship Memorial Park, where the USS Alabama and USS Drum sit anchored in permanent contrast to the softness of the bay—steel and scale against open water and sky.

Especially cool was the Alabama Poppy Project set up for Memorial Day.

Before heading back, we stopped for a relaxed late-day break at LoDa Bier Garten, which featured more than 100 beers on draft and amazing food.

By evening, back at the campground, we grazed on leftover potluck. No planning, just a spread of whatever remained from the week, passed around and shared until it felt like a single meal again.

Day 7-May 24

• Work Session 8-RV kitchen gadgets, RV grills

• Teambuilding Session 8-Dutch Blitz Competition

• Team Meal-Dority’s, blackberry peach margaritas, beer

For the final day, everything had a packed-up energy—half present, half already on the road home. The morning work session was all about RV kitchen gadgets and grills, the kind of gear that quietly defines life on the move. We shared tips, hints and recipes, along with ideas for storage and packing for travel.

We gathered at Dority's for the final team meal at lunch:  fried rice with shrimp, chicken, and lo mien with egg rolls.

Teambuilding came in the form of one last Dutch Blitz competition—fast, loud, a chaotic. Cards flew, people argued over scores that probably didn’t matter, and easy laughter built over a week together. The games stretched the day out just enough to make leaving feel less immediate.

We spent the afternoon enjoying margaritas mixed with fresh peaches and blackberries from the island market mixed right there between RVs and folding chairs, the kind of improvised recipe that ends up feeling like tradition.

The next morning, we said our goodbyes and made plans to meet up for I know a Guy Convention 2027.