Lone Star Transportation

Go to the search option in the upper right hand corner and type in Lone Star, there are a couple of threads alread on here concerning them, good luck.

 

I remember when I used to flatbed seeing a LOT of their trucks at sites in NE Texas picking up pipe. This was way back in 08 but the drivers I talked to seemed happy then.

 

I've been here 6 plus years. put up with a lot of stuff in my time and managed to stay with these folks despite their shortcomings. I've had several new trucks over that time. Problems?? they have a Moron for a maintenance director that came from Werner, of all places, that started out speccing the trucks as if the company Was werner, and they ran like crap. (NOBODY liked this guy, and why he's still there??? Anybodies guess, he's either got a family member that's keeping him alive there, or he's a real suckass) They Finally took that responsibility away from him, so he does not have any authority there, but he's is still over having the equipment maintained?!?!? He's a bandaid-to-fix-it, know nothing, bean counting idiot! quite frankly, and has a degree in engineering, put him to work designing bean bag pillows, he has NO business near trucks.
Communications have Lacked in that company for years, they rely too heavily on inter-office e-mails, instead of getting up off their duffs and taking 3 steps to a supervisor to get an answer. Their person in charge of "Driver retention" doesn't do a great deal in that area, she used to be a real go-getter for the drivers years ago, but has become a "toe the company line" type, use to be a time when she'd go to bat for the driver and do whatever it took to help him/her out.
I've all too often heard this comment from the office when you have an issue or complaint, "If you have a problem with the companies policies, then you can take the truck to the yard and we'll get you a ride home." (Yeah, right, last few drivers that took that invite ended up finding their Own rides home.)
Home time, or vacation time?? 3 days home time is about the max they will let you have, then it's time to hit the bricks. vacation time?? asl for a week and you get 5, and I repeat, "5" business days off, you have to beg toward the end of that time and make up some excuse that you need a couple more days, and hope that you get them. I've Never, in all my years of driving and working for any other company, heard of a weeks vacation time as being 5 "business days". A week is a week (uh, hello?? 7 days make up a week, dummies, not 5. Oh, and their office staff?? they get a 4 day vacation week, how lame is that???)
As you can likely tell, I've had about enough of this place, too darned many chiefs and very few indians running this outfit. I'd thought that I'd Finally found the right company to work for and stay at, but I'm having very strong inclinations leading me in the opposite direction lately.
My advice?? Take your time before you make any kind of leap, especially here. All the smooth talk in the world should Not be the deciding factor in whether you come to work here. pretty trucks don't mean squat when the drivers well being is involved. And just because you had an agreement with recruiting for time off, it won't mean diddly when you get put on a dispatchers board. If you decide to go ahead and work here, I wish you the best, but don't get your hopes up. Oh, one more thing, driver safety meetings (held every quarter) are just that, they don't want to hear driver complaints nor field any questions concerning your end of the job. If you decide to go into one of these meetings, and voice your opinion, you best hope that you have some true partnership that is willing to stand up with you and pose those same, and other, concerns, because they will quickly try to side-step any other issues. I.e., turn a deaf ear to you and brush you off.
I don't say this stuff, just to spout off, there is good and bad with Any company out there. But there comes a time, when enough is enough. There are a few good people that work in fort worth, but there are far too many that just plain don't give a ###### about the drivers. Just get the load and deliver it" it pretty much their way of operating. Good luck, which ever way you decide to go.

 

In relation to Oldpatriot's post, I have to question the companies well being. Why all of a sudden are they offering flat bed training and are currently hard up for drivers?

 

To Skunk Truck 2590. The reason is,...they haven't <due to their own nature of Not taking care of their drivers and showing the drivers that they respect them for the work they do> been able to KEEP their experienced drivers. This last march thru may, they LOST around 30-40 of their drivers to one company alone. I was asked by one of the higher ups if I was going to leave too, my response was that "I was not looking at the time, why, you fixing to go out of business?" To which I received the response, "What? You gonna go to ***** trucking for $0>48 per mile??" I responded, well, IF I did, it would be for that much, PLUS EXTRA per mile for ANY oversize loads, Health and dental that far exceeds what we get here, and for a better price, Plus, a weeks vacation is a FULL week, not 5 "business days", plus EVERYone is home for Christmas, EVERYONE!!! plus other perks and benefits that the company has offered to their drivers. along with, not JUST a fuel bonus, but a safety bonus too.
Any company can make themselves LOOK good, and be real nice to you at the recruiting end of the business, but when you get there and see the truth of who they are, then any respect for the company, ownership and management, goes out the window. Like I said in my previous post, I and NOT in the habit of putting ANY company down just for the sake of being mean hearted nor bitter. It's just that after having been here for as long as I have, it comes to the point where enough has become enough, and the truth needs to be presented for all to see. For a long time, reguardless of what I saw happening at Lonestar, I did my best to look at the company in a positive light and not degrade any aspect of the company. (well, with the exception of a few select people there.) I'm just really disappointed and tired of how things there are done, the foolishness and selfishness of the personnel in management, (especially of a couple people there whom I've known for a very long time who have become "hardcore" company personnel).
I'm not sorry for what I've said here, and I would hope that anyone else wanting to post something about any company they work or worked for, would be honest enough to do so by being truthful about what they post. It can be both helpful and beneficial to the person looking for a good company to work for, and hopefully find one that they feel they can stay with throughout their career.
And again, the choice is yours, I hope you'll take the time to consider what I have said and make the choice that YOU feel is best for YOU. Good luck to all. take the time to research ANY company you are considering working for and make sure that they will consider YOUR needs, as well as their own. PLUS, if you have a family to take care of, speak with them before you go a make a decision to do this kind of work. Some spouses are fine with you being gone on the road for a number of weeks at a time, (put your foot down with you dispatcher when you need the time off) and make sure that if you need the time off at a certain time, notify your company at least 2 weeks in advance (or more) of the date you need to be home.
Keep the wheels on the ground and be safe.

 

this goes to a driver who recently sent me a private message asking about where to look due to my earlier comment. seems I cannot respond in private until I have more posts, so, I am submitting this as a post and advice for everyone out there.

Hello, Steve, Most of the drivers went to Keen transport, a few went to Daily. that much I do know, and I still keep in touch with some of them and for the most part, they are happy where they are now. with Keen, I do know that it will depend on where you live as to if you can get hired on with them. they run mostly the east coast and central states, but if you tell your dispatcher, then you should be able to run further west. Ken has a better pay and benefits package, which is only 1 reason that I have strongly considered them. They only haul open equipment loads, (mostly construction equipment like Caterpillar and other construction equipment.
Daily offers a percentage program, something like 21-23 % on every load hauled and after about 6 months to a year, they will offer you the truck as your own to buy and a much higher percentage pay (as an owner operator) which is somewhere around 67%. their trucks are ALL owner operator specs with the equipment set up for the work that they do. They will assess you experience and assign you to either the stepdeck fleet or put you under an RGN unit, that, for the most part, you will remain under. They also do open equipment, windmills and other loads. I'd recommend that before you go into the idea of hauling any windmill loads, you gather yourself some strong experience in hauling various oversize loads, ie., Long loads, heavy and high loads, the works. The windmill stuff is extremely sensitive and costly if any damage were to occur during the haul and could easily put a dent in your reputation. so, experience is key. It Can be a worthwhile experience, and both outfits would be good to go to.
If you live on the west coast, or in that area, you may also consider checking in with Combined transport as well. My only gripe with them is that, after all the years I've been doing this line of work, they wanted me to sign on hauling glass for them at a lower pay-rate before they would put me into any of their oversize loads. But, they do offer a good pay package as well, from what I have heard. The big thing is to keep your ear to the grindstone and listen up from other drivers that work for any of these companies. There are lots of folks out there that will say anything negative about a company that they've never worked for just to get someone else's ire against the company.
The only other advice I would give you, as I do with anyone else, is that any job, or employer you work for, is what YOU make of it. It can be the greatest, or best,..or it can be the worst. It's all in the attitude you take with it.
Best of luck with the choice you make and let me know how it goes.

 

I've made a couple posts about them. You are welcome to check them out. I have been with them for over 7 years and have put my 30 cents worth. best of luck to you