CRST Malone
 

If your getting paid percentage pay............do you get to choose your own loads??? Do they do any flatbed training, im an o/o wanting to pull flatbed

Marcel you might want to do a search on this forum for Malone. I believe that someone was asking about them a while back. Also I think that Gman has had some experience with them. Steve

Re: CRST Malone
 

Marcel, CRST Malone is a non-forced dispatch carrier. In other words, you decide when and where you run. They are agent based, similar to Landstar and a couple of other carriers, except that CRST Malone also has assigned dispatchers to their owner operators. Those who do best with them find many of their own loads and hook up with a few agents. Some do better than others. If you rely totally on a dispatcher you will not do as well as when you are more proactive. A friend of mine is doing about $2/mile to the truck including the fsc. But he doesn't sit around waiting for a dispatcher to call. He is doing better than most who lease to them. I am not sure what their fleet average is at this time. It is the same with any agent based carrier. Orientation usually runs about 3 1/2 -4 days. It takes 2 1/2 days to get the drug test back. They will not lease you on without the drug screen being back. You will have about one day of securement training. You can get more if you need it. I know their safety guy in Birmingham. He is a nice guy and very knowledgeable. It is best if you have a flat bed, but you can rent one from them if you cannot get your own. You will need securement equipment which you can buy through them and they will deduct a flat amount weekly out of your settlements. You can get your base plates through them, but will save money by getting your own. If you want to lease on with them you may want to call BJ 800-366-6350. That is the main number in Birmingham. Just ask for BJ or recruiting. She is a hoot. She handles new owner operator leases. I believe you can do orientation in Rockford, IN or Birmingham, AL. At one time you could do orientation in Texas. I am not sure whether they still do that or not.

I used to drive for/with them too...they charge a lot for trailer rent, so get ur own if you can. They are a good company and will teach you the basics on load securement stressing Steel coil securement above all. They require a lot of chains and straps and tarps. Getting them online or catalogs or whatever will save you $. As Gman said, you will need to be proactive to get the better runs; I didnt- (I was a driver for a fleetowner) so I got a lot of 500 to 600 mile runs (yuck!) and due to my inexperience spent a lot of time securing loads. For an inexperienced flatbedder, getting long runs prolly pays better due to less loading time(?) They haul a lot of coils and other steel, pipe , even some equipment. I did have the displeasure of hauling palletized supersacks of salt (*^%#$) and some sheetrock(argh) but some of that stuff is better than the tall bundles of pipe that have sharp edges and need to be tarped (AARGH)
If you have a LOWBOY trailer you will do well and tarp less! They do get military loads at CRST Malone!!!

They charge $165/week for trailer rental. That is about what most of the other carriers charge. It is still high. You can buy a trailer for less. Starting out, it might be easier to rent a trailer for a couple of months or so until you see whether you like pulling a flat. CRST Malone doesn't have a lot of step deck or low boy freight. There are only a few agents who do much with step deck loads. If you can get hooked up with them, you can do well with a step. Some shippers won't load a step deck. They haul a lot of steel. You will probably do better with a flat or covered wagon if you want to stay in the Midwest and South. Sometimes you can get used equipment from them.

Wow....thanks for ALL the great info.....i didnt think id get so much in a short amount of time....thanks again...i look at their website and it really doesnt tell ya much...but i also talked to a driver today also whick helped out alot.

do they use a load board like landstar? or how does that work??? thx

You will need to call your dispatcher or different agents to see what freight is available and what it pays. You will receive a list of agents at orientation. They do have a load board for their brokered freight, but not their owner operators. And like Landstar, not all their loads get to the load board, anyway. You may not hear about the better paying loads until you prove yourself. The same is true with Landstar and most other agent based carriers. They pay 75% of the line haul plus 100% of the fsc.

ok thanks alot GMAN you seem yo know alot about both Landstar and CRST Malone....now i guess my next question is it seems i would be better off with my own trailer at both CRST and Landstar.....how do i go about getting a trailer??? do i go about it the same way as i did my truck? do i go to an Xtra lease place or somewhere to that nature? Any recommendations for a good place to buy a USED trailer? Websites? i know of truckpaper.com

If you expect to pull a flat bed for either Landstar or CRST Malone you will need a trailer. If you don't own a flat bed, you can rent one from either of these carriers. I believe both charge around $165/wk, flat rate, with full maintenance. Other than tires, there isn't much maintenance on a trailer unless you have a seal or bearing go out. You can buy a good used trailer for about that much in a monthly payment, depending on how much you pay for the trailer, interest rate and credit. Used trailers seem to be bringing a premium price right now. I bought a new trailer from K & L Truck and Trailer in Knoxville, TN last year and got a good deal. Their used trailers don't seem to stay on the lot very long. Of course, that could be said of most trailer dealers. I would start with the Truckpaper. They always seem to have a lot of dealers advertising. You may also want to check with TMI and Superior Trailer Sales. The last used trailer I bought, I purchased from an individual and got a good deal. I just took my time until I found exactly what I wanted. Landstar has a section on their website that advertises equipment for sale by their BCO's. You can view it without being leased to them.

Hey guys, I just wanted to jump in quick and ask what would be the best size flat for Landstar or Malone. 45ft or 48ft. I can get a real good deal on a 42ft trailer. Should I bother with the small trailer?

You probably could get a good deal on a 42, but I don't believe anybody would want that short of a trailer. I would think a 45 would be the minimum you would want. And some places only want 48's

Malone prefers you to have a 48fter because they do get a lot of pipe to haul...I guess it depends on where u are.

Thanks for the info, I will most likely just get a 48FT.

Your best bet would be a 48'. I have known of some owner operators who started with a 45' and later bought a 48'. I would not buy anything shorter than 45' unless I were going to pull doubles. A friend of mine hauls steel almost exclusively and he has a 45' aluminum East trailer. He has thought about buying a 48', but has kept the 45'. He runs primarily in Pennsylvania and Ohio. It hasn't affected his income. A 48' works better when you have steel beams that are long. I prefer a 102" width but a 96" will work just as well. I have both width's. The 102" can come in handy when you have a load that covers most of the deck and you need to walk around it to secure or tarp. You can sometimes get a better deal in a 96".