CRST Malone (Flatbed Division) SUCKS!

Unless you have a pretty big bank roll... buying 2 or three trucks, and then hiring 2 drivers to run them, Wait till you're sitting at home in Cho Cho and you get a call that 1 of your trucks is stitting in AZ somewhere , the engine blown up, transmissions shot, washed out the drive axles, or simply abandonded... now you have to go get it... On average, Truck Drivers are Not a Loyal breed, and for $0.32 cents a mile... I would not get out of bed for that..Now that you are an Employer.. You will have to also Match their payroll Taxes and Workmans Comp Insurance...If you dont believe me, Give Gene Wolfe a buzz in Atlanta, GA at Crst Malone and Ask him how many times he had to drop what he was doing and go get 1 of his trucks...

 

You can do well with CRST Malone if you are proactive and have a good dispatcher. You can contact agents on your own, but they still have an assigned dispatcher. If you stay in their primary freight lanes you can earn a very good living with them. I have spoked to some of their lease operators and some are not doing well. But, they are leasing their truck and trailer from CRST Malone. That is a lot of money to pay out each week. I spoke with one of their lease operators a couple of years ago and he told me that he only cleared about $300/week after expenses and everything else had been paid. If you go with them you need to buy a truck and trailer before going with them. If you own your truck you can rent one of their trailers until you can buy one. I think they now charge about $185/week. In reality, that is not much more than what a payment on a new trailer would run. I have always preferred owning my equipment rather than renting.

 

I also live in Chattanooga and had a couple of trucks leased to CRST Malone a number of years ago. I was with them about 2 or 3 years. I averaged $1.66 on one truck and $1.81 with the other. I don't know what their current rates are doing. I think that I did as well or better than most who were leased to them at the time. That was to the truck. I would stick with one type of freight rather than diversifying at this point. Malone doesn't have a refer division and you will need to either lease to a different carrier or get your own authority. I know a couple of CRST Malone's agents who have their own trucks, yet they continue to keep them leased to CRST Malone. It is much easier to manage your business if you concentrate on one specific segment of the industry. If you choose to lease to CRST Malone you can run out of their main office or through one of their agents. They have a large agent in Atlanta and she could probably help you stay busy with her freight. You could also run out of Rockport, IN. That is a regional office for CRST Malone. I did well out of the main office in Birmingham (Trussville). You will need to find agents who have the better paying freight and the lanes that you want. If you stay within Birmingham, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Atlanta, you should do well. If you run west coast, then they are not as strong on the left coast. They do have one large agent in Fontana. I used to do pretty well with his loads when I ran out that way. I hauled out of Chattanooga (they had an agent in town then) to Union City, CA and usually deadheaded to Fontana. But, I did better staying within that triangle or rectangle that I mentioned. If you have any specific questions feel free to pm me.

 

I talk to Malone drivers wherever I go and ask them how they like it. The two things I hear are the Gold Trucks that came from the TEAM Fleet are Junk and the trailers are not set up for the binders or chains. I just spoke to one an hour ago and he did not even have any tarp boxes. All of his chains and binders are kept under his bunk.
Are they insane? IF they are going to have you rent a trailer, why don't they offer you a trailer that is actually set up for flatbedding?
My friend at least has some tarp boxes to put his chains and binders in, but that is unacceptable as far as I am concerned as well.

 

CRST Malone expects you to either have your own headache rack or buy one to put your chains and binders. I have seen some nice Reitenour side kits that they are renting to some drivers. Most flat bed trailers will have either d-rings or drop chains built into the trailer. If the driver had a gold truck then he is a lease operator, not an owner operator. If that is the case, then he may not be able to afford to buy a headache rack. If he gets a Reitenour then he should have j-hooks for the trailer. Those are not built into the trailer. If he doesn't have them I would imagine that whomever had it before him either sold them or otherwise disposed of them.

 

It seems to me that if they expect you to do that, they should include that in the package. They are pushing this as a way to get into business, lease a truck with 0 down and rent a trailer from them. No where in any of their literature do they mention that you need to buy that or basically do with out. I think it is a very big oversight on their part.

 

The fmcsa no longer requires a headache rack on a tractor or bulkhead on a trailer. CRST Malone may have changed their policy with the change in the law. If your friend has a trailer with a bulkhead then he may be able to hang his chains and binders on the bulkhead. If he is pulling a side kit then he can leave his chains and binders inside the kit. I prefer leaving mine in the front of the trailer as long as the kit is up, even if the trailer has tool boxes. CRST Malone gives all new people who lease on with them a list of required equipment. If it isn't on the list then they no longer require it. The list they supply will be for the basic equipment. He will probably find that there are other things that he will need as he learns his way around a flat bed. I usually keep hand ratchets on my trucks. Blankets and other types of padding may also be helpful. If he mostly hauls coils and steel then he will probably have everything he needs for the time being.

I have seen some drivers who have large plastic bins with lids on their trailer to keep their binders, chains and straps. They put it on the trailer and throw a strap across it.

How much experience did your friend have before he leased a truck?

 

He pulled flats for Arrow until they went out of business and a year with Maverick. I also drive for Maverick. The point I am trying to make is that the way that CRST is doing it in my opinion, is not set up to make it the easiest for the driver to get set up, secure his load, and then put things away so they will be ready for the next load.
I have pulled a side kit, and it had the bulkhead with the places for the binders and chains and they could be locked up when you are finished so that it can not easily be stolen.

I am comparing how other companies do it compared to how CRST has theirs set up.

I just do not think that they are going out of their way to make it easier for the L/O to do his job.

The guy I met yesterday had to put everything under his bunk.

As far as strapping everything down and putting them in containers, how hard is it to have a trailer with tarp boxes and a bulkhead with hangers for the binders and chains?
Crst Malone is the only flatbed company that I have ever seen out there that puts a driver with a trailer that has no place for all of these things.

If they gave everyone side kits, then the problem would go away.

I am not saying that they have a bad deal, just pointing out that they could do a much better job for their L/O's

 

Some of their trailers do (or did) have tool boxes on them. If the trailer isn't what your friend needed then he should have requested another trailer. At one time they would find you a trailer with a bulkhead if the driver didn't have a headache rack. I have found them to be accommodating to owner operators. I suppose things could have changed over the years. If your friend has pulled flats before then he should have inspected the equipment and if it didn't have what he needed or wanted then he should have requested a different trailer. Having pulled a flat in the past, he should have an idea of what he needs. And while it is not quite as convenient having to stow your chains and binders in a side box, he can make it work for a while. He can always buy his own trailer and get what he wants on it. He may even ask them to put a tool box on the trailer. They may or may not accommodate him.

 

The impression I get from talking to him and the other drivers is that you get what they give you and that is that. You do not get to inspect the truck or the trailer before you have to sign the leases.
At that point you have already quit your other job, you have signed the lease...so what are you going to do...put up with it and move on.
Just not the most professional way to do things in my opinion.