My Experience with Lone Star Transportation

Monday:

Got up early monday morning, drove 45 min south out to Garden City, TX to a work site with 20+ trucks all with the same stuff

Delivered this (50' Poly Pipe)



Then I deadheaded 3 hours 15 min from Garden City, TX to Brownwood, TX and loaded this:



Then YEP day STILL wasnt over!

So then i headed to the receiver in Refugio, TX Stopped in Luling, TX at the POS loves to fuel, and drove the rest of the way down there. I wanted to as close as possible in the morning since i didnt have an address was just told "call me at 730 and ill tell you how to get here" So the ONLY truck stop anywhere near the town (according to my GPS/Truck stop books) is a littel shell Fuel Stop with truck parking. So i figured I would go there (about 6 miles south of town on 77) and if it was full i would go to the closed Boarder patrol check point 2 miles north of the shell.

BUT i started feeling pretty bad about an hour north of town, made it to town, and as i merged onto 77 i saw a BK sign...but no truck parking....then i saw a McD's.....I couldnt see the HUGE truck parking area out back (with no lights and with a GIANT sign off the SIDE road saying truck parking...dumbarses! lol....then i see a Whataberger....again same thing couldnt see the huge truck parking lot out back or the sign

Then i see a stripes fuel stop with a big concrete lot and a big sign "NO OVERNIGHT PARKING WE TOW"

so i keep rolling along and BAM i see a velaro mart/fuel stop with 3 trucks parked there with what looked like room for 1 more. So i pulled in and saw a hole line of parking in the back 1/2 the spots still wide open so i parked right there, in the dead center of town .

then did my 10

Tuesday:

I get up at 630, call the receiver at 715, get directions, im 7 miles south of him.

So i head up there, pull into a FARM ....Now let me explain...see where i come from farms have cows, pigs, chickens, sheep, etc all harmless animals and they are all FENCED in. Well when i get here the gate is wide open and the farmer waves for me to follow his pickup out into the farm.

So im thinking since the ONLY thing keeping anything in is a cattle guard (cattle are STUPID) so i follow him, i see a few bulls on my way in but im too busy navigateing a dirt PATH with a 70-75' long truck and following this guy.

We get were im unloading, farmer looks at the load and says i gotta go get my forks for the backhoe i'll be back in like 10 min. So i figured i have 13 straps to take off and put away no problem.

So i loosen all the straps, walk around grab my strap winder, and start to roll up the straps (now on the passenger side of my truck....and i hear grunting.......


I look behind me and ohhhh i donnno 100+ BULLS less then 20 feet away with NOTHING between me and them oops!

But they didnt move, they didnt see to appreciate me and my truck being in there feild or the sqeaking noise my winder makes, but other then stareing at me a grunting and mooing they didnt move so i finished my work and waited for him to come back

See:





Then 4 guys unload my truck:






Then i was told head to Pharr and wait for a load, so i missed my turn on 285 (worlds smallest sign) and since the mileage is the same 77vs285/281 i said to heck with it and kept on truckin (no sence in turning around). Well then i get a call....got a load in laredo for you So i had to turn around and drive 23 miles back north to get back to 285 to take 281 north Either way i woulda had to backtracked this way just a little more.

But anyway i get to laredo, drop my MT, hook/pre-trip/check the straps on the new trailer, get my paper work, send Loaded call, call dispatch all in under 15 min....and then wait 15 min at the gate for the gaurd (who no speaka any english to finish his convorsation with a mexican driver (he brings stuff to the US from Mexico from CAT)

Anyway when i finally got out i headed north. Made it all the way to Baytown TX (640 miles for the day) just before i ran out of hours. Fueled/Parked for 10


Wensday:

Got up ran 645 miles to Shorter, AL to the POS Petro 2, they do have a decent little exspress/togo resturant pretty good philly cheese stake kinda small for $4.99 though, but sure tasted good, and watched it made fresh...

Fueled/parked for 10

Thursday:

I hammered down to NC, since i had a pre-plan and i wanted to get it loaded today so i can get out to TX asap to start my reset....


I get to sanford do my D/H and had enough time to go get reloaded then scale/fuel/park for 10....BUT the shipper isnt even planning on MAKEING the product until tonight

So i went to the J in Haw River to grab some Pizza before heading to the Petro here in Mebane. I pull in and well since i drive a 379 and pull a flat i did what im suposed to do, pulled in turned around and parked next to the scale Anyway on my way in I see a truck with a 20' container pull out of a front row spot and look like he was going to drive the wrong way threw the fuel pumps (which were full of trucks hence my parking spot) and i was thinking wtf is this guy doing? Then i see him wave to me kinda like go ahead since he was driving in the direction that i was going....then he waves again like come here. And it was a Fan/New member here, he saw me pull in and wanted to say hi. So jeff if you figured out how to get back here yet it was good meeting ya)

Then after i got my stuff, i pulled out and saw he was on the side of the ramp (log book) and we ran together for the rest of my trip (7 miles) to the Petro.


now im 1.5-2 miles from the shipper and 18.75 HOURS from the receiver in TX...so im gonna have to get loaded/secured/tarped quick if im gonna get out there with time to do a 34.....IF NOT i'll be doing one on monday i'll have 4 hours left on my 70 when i get there on sat and wont get any hours back till Monday night at midnight

so far this week ive done 2,424 miles still have 1,170 miles left before the end of the week so that'll be 3,594 MILES this week! Now if i can squeez in this reset it'll be a PERFECT week!





ALSO today is my 3 month aniversary with LST (90 days) so I got my .02 raise. So now i'm at .40cpm AND... well i'll explain how it happend it was funnier


I got off the phone with dispach, then got a message from dispach call ASAP. so i call "oh hey ya i forgot today is your 90th day, congrats! So you got your raise and your now a 0, your doing a great job!"

Meanwhile i'm laughing at "now your a 0" (thats a ZERO not a O) Anyhoo so that means i can now do Oversize....darn I'm doing crazy miles with these Legal Loads, i hope i can continue this once they start giveing in OD loads



Numbers:

December miles: 2,458 keep in mind i was in Orientation for a week, and training for a week, and i was home for christmas

January Miles: 12,354

Febuary Miles: 8,938 I had 10 days at home this month

and so far for March 3,988 miles


For a 90 Day Total of: 28,337 miles just at mile pay, not counting sign on bonus, Referal Bonuses, tarp Pay, etc thats $10,768.06, all the other stuff comes to $4,690 for a 90 Day Total of: $15,458.06!


I also put in for hometime March 22-26th off (5 days off)





American Trucker

 

Thanks! and nope not yet, im kinda hopeing it'll be a while (but im not counting on it) lol




American Trucker

 

I'm gonna tell ya a secret.....Thats what your 10 portable winches are for....dont tell anyone i told ya that though


I agree though, chains are much better for that copper anyway, only reason i didnt chain it was because i wasnt sure if the dents the chains will cause would be an issue, im assumeing they melt those plate down anyway but i didnt want to mess with it.

I'm gonna pickup that book, next time i see it. I need to get me some new straps too




American Trucker