Ice Road Truckers

May be a little off topic, but I am sure you guys will know the answers. Here in the UK, we have just started watching a new series of IRT, and a few of us have doubts about the show. Are all the guys regular truck drivers, or are some of them actors brought in to create drama? It seems to us that Hugh and Rick treat their trucks so badly that they cannot be regular drivers, as no company would employ them. To keep the tractor theme on topic, my wife and I help to organise the biggest tractor show in England, in November. In excess of 800 tractors, plus other stuff on show. Please come and join us.

They are not actors, but it is a documentary/drama. They do over hype alot of it, and yes, some of it seems to be scripted. Remember, they are making a show to entertain. It would not be to good of a show if they had a guy driving trouble free down the ice road for an hour. You would be looking forward to the comecials! Hugh owns the trucks that he and Rick drive. I got to hang out with Alex Debogorski a few times in the last three years. He is the real deal. I hope that answers a few of your questions.

Two things that I have seen tell me that they are not actors: First, a few seasons back they showed Hough in his own shop with his own truck with his excavation company name on the side getting ready to leave for the season. Second. Once he was between ice road trips and he took a one day driving gig because he needed the money. I agree that they do things that look very unprofessional and don't appear to excel in preventive maintenance, but that sort of activity leads to the need to work during the off season in order to make ends meet. I have a friend that is in a reality show about demolition that is supposed to air this fall. They would need an actor in that show because I just can't see my friend producing TV worthy drama. LOL.

Hoofer, thanks for the reply. I knew someone would have the answers, and you will save a lot of argument in the pub tonight.

All TV is scripted for drama and to keep the viewers watching.

(quoted from post at 13:08:39 09/17/12) All TV is scripted for drama and to keep the viewers watching.

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It's NOT "scripted" for drama. It IS Edited' for drama. They film EVERYTHING and then tell a story after the fact. As was said above, Alex is a super guy, taking care of a large family and not taking foolish chances, but Hugh is something of a hothead in real life; this gig actually gave him a steady paycheck because, otherwise, he "doesn't play well with others".

there is nothing real about reality television.

Hey Phil,who are the big Massey Tractor collectors in the UK? WE had three fellows come over here a few years back and they bought a lot of Massey stuff at a Massey collector's estate sale in southern Ontario,kind of lost track of them,think one was in Wales and had over 65 tractors.

All 'reality TV' folks are given scripts to follow just like any other TV show.Reality TV is about the same as 'rassling' yea its being done by real people but the outcome and situations are by the script.

Reality TV shows are targeted mainly at people who live their lives vicariously. In other words, people who live off of the drama of other people.
It is planned, scripted, edited, etc.
I had a guy argue with me that the Repo shows are not scripted. That is the caliber of audience that they thrive on.
It does not take much to make these shows, loads of profits and loads of shallow thinking people that believe they are real.

Yeah well, they ran this household off. After somebody on this site mentioned the scripting and editing I started paying attention to all the "stuff" that went wrong all the time and realized that's not how it really is. After a few more episodes, it all got to be a waste of time, both History and I believe Discovery; Channels 120 and 182 on Dish. Oh and the Hugh guy and the other one with the colored hair would have been long gone if I were running the trucking co. Hugh strikes me as an accident waiting for a time to happen.

So, I brought Cinemax into my monthly allotment and watch commercial free movies now.

Mark

The "Repo Man" show uses actors to recreate scenes. Anybody that thinks a reality show is real should buy a bridge that I have for sale.

Hugh and Rick are owner operators. Your opinion that no big company would hire them is exactly right. I also believe that those guys would never work for a big company as they don't pay nearly as well as an experienced smart business person/operator can earn.

Driving under those conditions, ice and snow, does take a whole additional skill set. Having said that it's no big thing. That is a skill set easily learned by a big majority of people.

I've been driving for about 5 years now and some of the incidents I've seen in real life make this show seem tame. Hugh and RIck are really good compared to some of the folks I've met out on the road. It's really scary to know they're out there.

Operating a tractor trailer is hours and hours of shear boredom till some 4 wheeler does something stupid. It's kind of like a video game, you have to be super alert to watch out, and react to, what the idiots are going to do next.

I agree with HooferB's assessment.

Watched it a couple times and thought it was the biggest joke i have ever seen . I have driven big trucks since 1964 and on all kinds of road conditions . Been involved in three accidents witch none were my fault. Thank god. one speeding ticket in a big truck and yes it was my fault there . Driven every major snow storm and blizzard that has hit east of the Mississippi and never got hung up due to the weather . Learned long ago that when roads get bad never drive any faster then your comfortable with and still maintain control . Let the guys that think they are invincible go ahead and go you will catch up to them down the road someplace . know your truck better then ya know your best girl . Do not tailgate do nothing stupid and above all things keep the fithwheel well greased and keep the drives loaded . I trained many a guys to pull coal buckets over our local state roads and the back county roads in the winter and we were out going after the first load of the day while the state boys were still in there warm beds . Breaking the path at 3 in the morning with a empty coal bucket going to some strip mine down in the hills thru a foot or two of snow and ice was always fun and made for about and hour or so of shear white knuckle driving up and down steep hills and around sharp curves with 150 to 500 foot shear drop offs and no guard rails . Then a lot of times on the back county roads you would get hug up and somebody had to make the hike on foot back to the mine and get a loader or dozer to open the road . Ya got what ever would start. Most mines we loaded out of it was self service loading and once you were loaded you still might have to fill the bucket on the loader with slack coal and treat the hills to get out . Back then the state did not salt the roads much and on the hills they would place piles of ash and some salt mixed in and leave a broken handled shovel for you to spread the ashes and salt mixture yourself .and when the piles were gone you were on your own . There were times that for us to get up a hill the first truck would make a run on the hill and trip the tailgate and spread some coal and do this till he spun out then back down and out of the way while the next guy in line would make a bonzi run on it and do the same . One hill coming out of Bergholtz Ohio and another down by West Point Ohio were plum nasty . Back in the day of the 318's and 335 Cummins's you knew how much you had on by what gear you pulled the hill in With 4.33 -4.44 gears in the rear if you had 30-33 ton on it was forth gear if you had 33-37 ton it was third gear If you had 40 -45 ton it was second gear You made a run on the hill for all ya had and usually that ment you hit the bottom in seventh or seventh over ya got on split then ya started skip shiften and ya had best not miss a shift. I have a cousin that ran the west and was always telling me about the BIG hills out there . In 1977 him and his wife came to visit for the weekend . Saturday morning i had to go load a load of coal for monday and Toby went with me and my buddy , i had just bought the new 1977 4300 Eagle with the NTC 350 cummins and it was reworked big time 13 speed and 4.44 gears Toby thought that it was a super nice truck and seamed to like it better then his KW The first ten miles of the hour and a half ride was on nice two lane but once we went thru Kennsington He went from just setting there to one hand on the dash one hand hanging on to the vent window frame and OH MY GOD where did you find these roads and it got even better as the hills got steeper the curves got sharper and the road got narrower , then came the back dirt and gravel road back to the mine and down into the bottom of the pit to load . Then the load drag home . He informed me that we were completely NUTS and that little trip was the wildest and crazy ride he had ever been on . Dropping off them little humps and bumps and hitting the bottom with the Jake cracking at 70-75 MPH and topping the next one at 20-25 with the Pyrometer pushing 1250-1300 with the Lt.ft of the tractor twisted up from the torque . And that day was Sunny and about 75 degrees Not mins 10 degrees with a foot of snow.

Not only does Hugh own the excavating company, I believe he owns the trucking company as well (Polar Industries).

(quoted from post at 05:35:53 09/17/12) there is nothing real about reality television.

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ou got that 100% right.
Watching TV is a waste of time.
Even the news is scripted :roll:

Anyone who thinks these types of shows are spontaneous and done "real time" should consider the fact there are DVD's available of "bloopers" while taping the show. They're scripted with very little attention to reality or facts. No one would watch otherwise. Not even the 6 oclock news is "fact based" any more.

Read on the internet - so it must be true! - an interview with Rick. Short version, it's real truck drivers, encouraged to fill a 'roll' that sorta mimics real drivers/ situations, and it's filmed as a real day, but everything gets greatly built up to keep it 'interesting'. One fella should be funny, one fella should be dumb, one fella should wreck stuff, one should be a hothead... If you don't fill your role, they will find another 'real' driver to film and be 'interesting'.

Kelly sat out this year, from the little bit of her interviews it sounds like that's kinda theissue -the show gets more and more goofieness so she wanted out for a while. Met her at a grand openning, nice gal.

Liked the first couple of years, and the roads in other countries seasons were interesting, but think they kinda ran their course, after all truck driving is 90% mind numbing bordom, how much more can they punch it up to be 'interesting' without being a 'cartoon' that's just silly.

--->Paul

"rassling" is not real?

Rick

I just can't make myself watch it anymore, it's of the same caliber as the repo shows.

Guys, thanks for all the information. I have been a truck driver here in England for more than 20 years, but I have been unable to convince the guys in the pub that some of the stuff in IRT is not completely genuine. Thanks to you all, should get me several free pints of beer tonight. Thanks once again. Phil

I drove for 38 years and there was no bordom didn't have time for bordom.I worked for a common carrier and we drove from 200- 560 miles a day and make anywhere between 8 and 27 deliveries a day + pickups and did it in a 14-15 hour day. That doesn't leave much time to be borded.

If you ignore the "drama", it is pretty much like driving Winter roads anywhere..
The "Heavy Hauling", with Pushers is interesting..
There always is some type of thing going on between drivers, but what they portray is over the top and not very likely ..
I used to average around 2,000 miles of ice and snow every week in the Winter and non could be any slicker (we Never shut down, unless the road closed ahead of us)...
-60 Degrees would sure have stopped me, though..!! would not want any part of those temps...!!!
I have not seen any of those trucks with snow built up on them like we get it...not uncommon to have probably over a Ton, hanging from the Trailer Landing Gear alone..NO Way they could scale us in the Winter...we would have needed to be empty..!!
Altogether, not a bad show, but the fake drama gets tiresome..
Ron..

Ron, I have never watched the show, but trucks coming off the Dalton do build up quite a bit of ice and snow on the truck, in Alaska we get a snow credit at the scales for buildup, and one of the first things we do setting a new truck or trailer up is hang lots of mud flaps at mid points (not just behind tires) and tie up wiring and airlines, and wrap them in rubber to keep them from getting sandblasted.

How do any of those shows fit "History" channel?

History Channel sold out to Yesterday Channel.

there real drivers, BUT as usual the show producers feel the need to dramatize and have the stars play up to the cameras, and, have each of them overdo and ham it up for the cameras, for example you know there not going to freeze to death in a broke down truck when there is a camera crew there taking pictures of them sitting in the truck, or sliding on the ice, when there in the perfect position to film it from several angles, for the regular drivers who dont star in the tv show, that is a real danger, as to rick and hugh they own their own trucks if they want to tear them up its their choice, [ if most truck owners ever saw a driver treating equipment like that the driver would be fired, on the spot] however no regular freight company in the lower 48 would hire them on with those 2 trucks, there simply too old and worn, a lot of freight companies today are hauling jit [ just in time freight] and the loads must be at the receiver at a certain time, no slip ups, or it may cause a production line to have to stop to wait on the load, hence they wont hire any owner operator to haul it if their truck isnt 2 years old or newer,and its owner/ driver shows a strong sense of responsibility, ricks character, is typical of some of the younger, newer drivers, they simply dont care about anything but themselves if things get hard, they want to quit, on this years show, the young driver austin is another view of the younger set, he is down to business, is ready to do what is necessary to do the job, and at 23 years old is already doing heavy hauls,[ highly unusual for that young a driver to be doing that] interesting show, but as a driver with 30 years behind me, its easy to see thru the b/s, kind of like a dr watching a medical show lol

I am sure the actual IRT's are a different breed from most that are port-raid in the show..
I would have thought there would be Major consideration for anything that could get hanging snow/ice..!!
As far as the "slick" part..anyone driving in the winter months in the US can experience every possible situation..
Black Ice on Flagstaff is one example or or 6" of snow, Packed with freezing rain until cars slid sideways sell..!!
BTDT, didn't mind it, the "Other Guy" is the problem..
I have been on Rt 65 in Ind. when 4" of snow had Slid off the road..I could feel the steering being on the edge of breaking out at 30+ MPH..
2 trucks coming up in the Left lane,, I asked them if they knew how bad the footing was...
The answered: "Ya have to be GOOD, to be out here"...
They both got past me and suddenly BOTH of them Jack-Knifed into the Comedian Strip...
I couldn't help replying the same line on the radio, as I went by...
You MUST have a good Grip on the Seat and a Good "Feel" on the Wheel...and there is Nothing you cannot drive on..IF you are Cautious enough..