At the 2013 Quartzsite RV show, numerous “As Seen On TV” gizmos and gadgets made up a huge chunk of the exhibits once again.

But when all is said and done, there was only one extremely useful, cool  and affordable item on display that we think every fulltime RVer should have (and we aren’t even getting paid to say this!).

Protect My Papers

Leave it to geeks like us to bypass the telescoping flagpole displays, skip the over-seasoned dip mixes and beeline straight to the modest Protect My Papers exhibit.

This little credit-card sized travel buddy is capable of saving you hundreds of hours of time and heartache should disaster strike and wipe out your most valuable documents and electronic files.

Here’s how it works:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/88TB5A9soWo[/youtube]

Available as a 1 or 4 GB flash drive, Protect My Papers stores your most valuable documents. This product combines scanning with data input, notes and PDFs to store and print your critical papers with an organized and detailed script of categories, like this sample for “Donald” and “Vanna”

The Protect My Papers program and your data is stored on the device. This means that if you have to leave your computer with a tech, or worst case scenario must suddenly evacuate your rig because of a weather disaster, this device is all you need to grab.

Think It Can’t Happen to You?

If you think disasters only happen to others, think again. Jim and I have been forced to evacuate our campsite four times in just five years of full-timing because of impending weather disasters.

No, we’re not storm chasers, oftentimes you can’t leave fast enough to ditch bad weather.

As RVers, our exposure is so much greater than stick house dwellers, you must have an evacuation plan and a way to take your most valuable documents with you when — not IF — disaster strikes.

Protect My Papers Review Coming Soon

Since we don’t have a scanner on board with us to scan in our passports and other vital documents, we plan on using the one at my parent’s house now that we’re in Los Angeles for a few weeks. Stay tuned for a complete Protect My Papers review coming soon!