Texas Excavation Company Keeps the Dirt Moving with Thunder Creek

April 2026

Lockhart, Texas - 

The rapid growth of Central Texas continues to drive demand for site development and infrastructure work. For Stone Services and Consulting, that growth has driven them from a small business to a full-service grading, paving, and excavation company operating across the region.

“We started this as a land-clearing company,” says owner Blake Stone. “Just doing brush clearing, building tanks, roads, things like that. And it just kind of blossomed into way more stuff.”

Today the company tackles everything from asphalt paving and road construction to underground utilities and septic systems. Their crews operate across a broad territory including San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Victoria, and Waco, keeping a fleet of roughly 50 machines moving across multiple jobsites.

At that size, the ability to keep machines fueled and properly maintained goes beyond a logistical concern. It’s foundational to the business.

“Without fuel you have nothing. 
Without fuel and grease, we can’t run.” 
^{- Blake Stone, Owner}

From Pickup Bed to Purpose-Built Solution

“I used to work out of the back of a half-ton pickup,” Stone recalls. “I’d have DEF inside of it, grease buckets, stuff like that.”

Like many growing contractors, Stone Services initially handled fueling and maintenance however it could, but as the fleet expanded and jobsites spread out, that approach became harder to sustain. Machines occasionally had to return to the yard for routine service, and managing fluids across multiple crews created additional complexity.

Downtime quickly compounded the problem.

“If you’ve got a piece of equipment down, you’re going to get behind on what you need to do,” Stone says. “If it’s not running, it ain’t making no money.”

What the company needed was a way to bring fueling and maintenance directly to the equipment instead of the other way around.

A Mobile Service Hub

That shift came when Stone Services added a Thunder Creek MTO No-HAZMAT Fuel and Oil Trailer.

The trailer consolidated diesel fuel and key service fluids into a single mobile platform that could move easily between jobsites. Instead of juggling containers and supplies across multiple vehicles, crews now have diesel, oils, grease, DEF, and waste oil management in one place. Routine service can happen directly in the field.

“With Thunder Creek, it’s all there for me,” Stone says. “This trailer has everything you need to service your equipment.”

Better Maintenance, Better Runtime

With service supplies organized and accessible, preventative maintenance became easier to perform consistently. That led to fewer breakdowns and more productive machines.

“Our maintenance was better. Our runtimes were better. We didn’t have as many breakdowns,” Stone says. “It was a game changer.”

According to Stone, uptime improved dramatically.

“Our runtime went up 60 percent when we bought this trailer. We were taking better care of our stuff because it was easier to take care of it.”

Time Back in the Day

The trailer also eliminated many of the trips previously required to retrieve fuel and service supplies from the yard. Stone estimates the unit saves three to four hours each day.

For an operation consuming 300 to 400 gallons of diesel daily, those hours quickly add up.

“Downtime is the problem,” Stone says. “If you can keep things running, that’s 90 percent of the battle.”

Built to Handle the Unexpected

Construction equipment rarely operates under gentle conditions, and the trailer has already seen its share of abuse.

Stone recalls an incident where the trailer was run off the road and rolled several times into a ditch.

“We thought it was completely totaled,” he says.

Despite bent axles and damaged doors, the tank system remained intact.

“It never leaked.”

Replacement parts were shipped quickly, allowing the company to repair the trailer and return it to service.

“We called them and said, ‘This is the model, we need the doors, we need this, we need that.’ Probably a week later everything showed up.”

A Practical Advantage in Hiring

Another factor in Stone Services’ decision was the ability to operate the trailer without requiring a CDL or HAZMAT endorsement.

Thunder Creek’s multi-tank trailers use individual tanks of 115 gallons or less, each plumbed to a common manifold. With valves open, operators can draw from multiple tanks simultaneously. When closed, the tanks function as separate containers under the 119 gallon threshold, allowing the trailer to be transported without a HAZMAT endorsement. In most cases, a CDL is not required, depending on the tow vehicle.

In an industry where specialized drivers can be difficult to find, that flexibility matters.

“That was the single most important thing why we bought it,” Stone says. “How do you find a truck driver that’s willing to roll around in the grease all day?”

By removing those licensing requirements, more members of the crew can handle fueling and service when needed.

The Lifeblood of the Operation

Today the trailer moves between jobsites handling daily fuel and service tasks for the fleet. Looking back on the decision, Stone doesn’t hesitate to describe its impact.

“It just made our lives ten times easier. It was the single most important purchase we ever made at this company.”

In an industry where productivity depends on uptime, the math is simple.

“If it’s not running,” Stone says, “it ain’t making no money.” Back