Traffic in Lima, Peru.
Where are Kevin and Ruth right now? Lima, Peru.

Where are they going next? Huaraz, Peru on Friday!

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

A neat little gadget

We had quite a few requests from various companies this winter to "advertise" their products for them. We turn most of them down, either because we're simply not interested in the product, or we actually try it and it's not worthy of a decent review.

But we've got a few good ones coming your way over the next couple of weeks. Here's the first one...

This little smart phone charger is like many out there. It plugs into your vehicle's cigarette lighter. Actually, I guess they don't call it a cigarette lighter anymore, do they? It's now a 12v power outlet socket. Or automotive power point.

But, this little charger also has a very fancy feature. It remembers where you parked your car!

The Zus smart car finder and USB charger comes in a fancy little case. 

The Zus charger works with both Android phones or iPhones. It delivers twice the charge capability as a standard phone charger. 

But the neatest thing is it's ability to save your vehicle's location automatically whenever you shut off your car. You need to download the Zus app to your phone, and then it's ready to go. 

The following pics are screenshots from our own iPhone...

As soon as you shut off your vehicle, the Zus device sends a signal to your phone via Bluetooth. Your phone's GPS system saves the devices last location, and the app tells you how far away from your car you are. If you are trying to find your car, the app points you in the right direction, and tells you how far you have to go.

Also, as soon as you turn your car off, the app asks you if you want to set the parking timer. You know, you might only have forty minutes until your parking meter runs alarm will go off as your time gets close to running out. It also tells you how long it's been since you parked.

We used this device for two solid weeks when we had the little red Beetle in southern California.

I have to say, it works really well. And, I continue to use it as my primary charging device in the motorhome. The only time it doesn't really do what it says it's going to do is if you park in a parking garage. It has no way of knowing what level you're on, but it is smart enough to tell you to take a photo of your level and parking spot in the garage. 

Kinda neat!

And, if you buy one through the following link, you get $5 off the already cheap direct website price, and we get a $5 commission. Great deal for both of us. 

Thanks for supporting Travel with Kevin and Ruth!

Alternately, you can buy one through

Zus Smart Car Charger at

Our Canadian readers can buy one through, but it's a little more expensive...

ZUS Smart USB Car Charger and Car Finder, Military Grade


  1. OMG I might actually order this. I live in a small town but still lose my car in the Walmart or Costco parking lot on occasion lol. Tell Ruth to back away from that freaking cliff!

    1. It is a great little gadget and Kevin loves it. We don't often forget where we park our car but the odd time you are in a rush and just head for the store and after shopping come out the door and it takes a minute or so to remember where you parked it, lol!

      Trust me, it may look like I'm at the edge but rarely am I THAT close! :-)

  2. Neat gizmo. And here I thought I was being cleaver by taking a couple photos of where I had parked in cities like Ljubljana. Those were the times when I really figured I'd never find the car again. The timer idea makes it an even better product, and overall it's way better than taking a few pictures and then hoping for the best.

    1. Taking pictures is also another great way to remember as long as you remember to do that! ;-)

      I remember seeing a person at Wonderland trying to find their car in the mass of vehicles, they even have a car that will drive you around looking for your car, this would definitely eliminate that!

  3. It is a wonderful product, great idea. I was approached by them to promote it as well a few weeks ago, but turned them down, same as all the other advertisers.

    1. You should have taken them up on the offer George, it is a neat little gadget, plus the fact that it recharges your phone at the same time.

  4. That is quite an interesting product. I was surprised to see that you have trouble remembering where you left Sherman... ;c)

    1. They used it when they had the beetle :-)

    2. Never had a problem finding Sherman but the little blue car, that's another story! ;-)

      Rita is right, we tried it out on the little red beetle in LA and San Diego and it worked great. Loved the feature that told you how much time you had left on the meter!

  5. I have a couple of charging devices but this looks interesting...the bonus is the car finder in large parking lots.

    1. Kevin is quite impressed by it, he loves the fact that it has two USB chargers on it too!

