When a farmer and a fire chief found a common love for camping, neither knew their friendship would spur an RV product that sold thousands of units last year.
Lamrok Outdoor Products started its journey in the “footsteps of Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates,” the company’s co-founder, Mike Lambert, said. He designed and assembled Lamrok’s first product – the Liteswich – in his garage. As an RVer, he wanted a way to turn on all his exterior lights with one switch.
His homemade invention became a patented technology unveiled to the market in 2014. Before that, it was the “first accessory” Lambert and his camping friends put on their towable campers when they got to their destinations, he said. Lambert and his family traveled upwards of 2,000 miles per year.
“We wanted something for everyone,” Lambert said. “Anyone can buy our product and walk up to their camper, plug it in, flip the switch and turn their lights on.”
The Liteswich is an aftermarket product created with OEM replacement parts, which Lambert said was done purposefully as a “sign of familiarity.” The product’s body housing uses RV manufacturer’s standard power receptacles, giving it the look of a vehicle end replacement part, Lambert said. The Liteswich uses the 7-pin wiring connection normally found on a vehicle.
“Our product simply plugs into a camper and uses your lights to provide a 360-degree soft light that is not obtrusive,” Lambert said. “You literally plug it in [to a 12-volt source] and turn the switch on.”
Seven years ago, Lambert shared his early invention with fellow camper and future business partner Kevin Rokenbrodt – the “Rok” in “Lamrok.” The Liteswich’s first working prototype was the result of some friendly competition.
“Kevin said ‘we could sell that to people,’” Lambert said of the product. “I said it is not foolproof, but Kevin kept on me. Talking more about it, I finally had a couple design concepts in mind. We said, ‘Let’s have a contest and see who the first one is to come up with a working prototype.’”
As the son of a Wisconsin farming family that harvests Green Giant corn from its 5,000-acre plot, Lambert said he can “make anything out of anything.” He ultimately created the first “foolproof” Liteswich prototype. He will not take all the credit, though, saying it was a team effort.
“Kevin and I are just really good friends who came up with a really good product that seems to sell itself,” Lambert said.
While aesthetically pleasing, the product can be used to enhance safety and visibility around a camper. Lambert said he handcrafted a switch for a veteran customer who wanted the technology to help with limited fine motor skills.
Liteswich also can be used while boondocking, Lambert said. In a product stress test, he found the technology could last on 12-volt battery power for roughly two days straight.
“It is definitely a product that fills a niche,” Lambert said. “It is needed for camping? No. But people are spending a lot of money on RVs. Why would you not want to showcase your investment with the lights already on the unit? Our product is the only safe and effective way out there to turn them on. People walk by at night and ask us how we do it.”
He and Rokenbrodt are much more investors than marketers, Lambert said. The Liteswich’s customers are virtually all word-of-mouth, and the business does minimal advertising. Early in development, the duo pitched the product to dealerships such as Burlington RV in Sturtevant, Wisconsin. Lambert said owner Tim Wegge requested a 48-count case immediately. Lambert said he was not expecting to sell anything that day and had only 24 Liteswiches made in his garage.
Word spread and Liteswich demand picked up. In 2017, Lamrok sold 800 of its product. Last year, that number increased to 3,000. The steady customer influx caused the business to move its “factory” to the big leagues, using the same Taiwan-based manufacturer as suppliers Curt and Cequent Towing Products.
“It increased our capacity to as many as we want, truly,” Lambert said. “We explored private labeling capacity and can private label for anyone now.”
Reverse-engineered product drawings are underway, he added, which could give Lamrok the ability to look at alternative manufacturers based in the U.S., which is among the company’s goals.
Lamrok now sells its Liteswich 2.0 – a waterproof version with an additional fuse and the company’s logo on the cap – through an Amazon platform that spurs buyer ratings Lambert said are “almost unheard of.” The business maintains a near-perfect seller’s rating on its eBay and Amazon channels, he said, with a 4.9-star rating on the latter.
Lambert was in industrial distribution, he said, initially leading the business toward a distribution-like model. However, the duo did not have adequate contacts or manufacturing capabilities to support more than a regional channel, Lambert said.
“We stopped concentrating on distribution networks because they were so new,” Lambert said, “and solely started focusing on keeping our supply chain in check and online sales.”
Lamrok Outdoor Products now is focused on supporting climbing product demand.
“If I did anything wrong with this product, it is that I actually made it too well,” Lambert said.
Those interested can learn more about the Liteswich here.
