Trucking companies that you wished were still in business

hard running hands. My uncle and his crew would run loads up from Anderson and King Ranch and hand them off to Keaton. He had connections and authority to run in some directions and my uncle in others.

 

That dry van or cattle hauler?

 

Texas based. Not same as the Merchant’s that was up north.
During my high school time working in a relative’s trailer repair shop they ran a ton of Louisville Fords with 8-71 Detroits and Fruehauf trailers. Before they folded around 1998 and assets were bought out by Central motor Lines that shut down recently they were running a large fleet of T800’s.

 

Cattle.

 

They would run 3 man teams in those old WFL’s on occasion. Keaton was one of the first non stop coast to coast cattle haulers from what my uncle had told me.

 

How many trucks? I’m thinking if I ever saw them, I started around 1992

 

I know the reefer side of Keaton has been gone but last I knew they still had their sale barn in sealy. That’s been in early 2000s last I heard

 

Not sure what he had at his peak. That photo was taken in summer of ‘76. By ‘92 when I was driving for my uncle and we’d go up that way for a drop I remember there always being a handful of trucks at the feet lot. By that time a lot of cattle from here was going southeast to Miami to be shipped overseas. My uncle by that time had feed lots up in Montana so going that direction from customers in south Tejas, home base here, original family base in Sikeston Missouri and some customers in Kansas was concentrated on more. He also brought grain down from Montana and Kansas to Corpus Christi to be shipped out. He hated going east with cows and had Keaton do it for him.

 

I agree... I was a tractor mechanic for McGil for a while, and until we were switched and went under control of AAA Truck Leasing, I really enjoyed working there... Lots of good people there, sad they were shut down after the merge with Trism.

 

Sanger Trucking out of Fredricksburg, Pa. Danny was great to work for. Had nice equipment, long coast to coast runs. Turn and burn. Miss those days.