Ice Road Truckers (2007) s07e07 Episode Script
Load Rules
Tonight on Ice Road Truckers Yee-haw! The feud is on, man.
I'm gonna have to put my Hatfield-McCoy hat on here shortly.
The war between Polar Industries and VP Express - gets messy - The way it's working for me right now, not getting my backhauls, doesn't pay me a dime.
I need to get shit straightened out with Mark here.
And drivers have had enough.
Burnin' this right to the ground.
This is just a fucked up situation.
I'm fed up with it.
While up north, the King of Obsolete - The King of Obsolete - Aw, this doesn't look good.
breaks through.
Whoa! Fuck! You know, we are number one, and we'll stay number one.
For weeks, Polar Industries has been running strong Got our loads delivered for Team Polar.
But VP Express mounted an offensive by landing new contracts Now you picked up 25 more loads, you said? And bringing on defecting drivers.
I'm glad to hear he's coming over here.
I like him.
And now Hugh and Vlad have gotten Mark's attention.
Is he just gonna stop there? I have a disgruntled employee who is a security threat here at my building.
In the far reaches of northern Manitoba Well, I'm gonna jump out there, freeze my rear end, take a quick look underneath, see if we got any oil leaks, look at the load.
Alex Debogorski is shut down on the side of the road.
Looks nice and dry under there.
I absolutely can't see nothing.
You smell that? - What the hell? - Yeah, I smell it.
I smell electrical smell again.
It's getting awful strong in here.
Holy mackerel! Get out of the truck! Oh! That's going to be the end of that truck.
I can't see no flames.
Well, something caught fire underneath the dash.
But it seems to have gone out.
I've never seen smoke come out like that without a truck burning down.
There's no sign of flames, but air's leaking behind the dash.
There are some wires burnt underneath the dash.
When the wires started burning, they melted a hole in the air line, so the air line started blowing on the fire, and it seemed to have blew the fire out.
Go figure.
I don't know.
The air leak's fixed with a hose clamp, but the source of the fire is still a mystery.
I thought the truck was burnt.
Any fire I've seen that started like that, it-- it would, uh, burn the whole truck.
We're still appealing to the Good Lord's sense of humor, so that's good.
So the question is whether I should sleep in here or not.
Hundreds of miles from help, his truck is the only shelter for the night.
The worst-case scenario, the truck burns in the middle of the night, and I'm sleeping here, and I just keep right on sleeping.
I am bobtailing down the winter road.
Polar teammate Lisa Kelly is taking on one of the toughest assignments in Manitoba.
We're going to Pauingassi to pick up a trailer and haul it back to Winnipeg.
When the winter roads melt away, any equipment that doesn't make it out is stranded sinking into the soft ground and freezing in ice.
Drivers can only attempt to dig it out once the roads reopen a year later.
This trailer that's in Pauingassi has been sitting there for a year or so.
So I don't know what kind of challenges I'm going to encounter when I get there, but I brought a shovel and tools and all kinds of stuff.
I think we're coming up to Fishing Lake.
It's a really big lake, which is my first ever lake crossing.
I've been on tundra, I've been on river, I've been on ocean, but I've never been on lake.
So I'm not sure what to expect.
We're definitely in the middle of the lake, though.
Fishing Lake has over multiple ice roads rated for different weights.
I can't see the other side.
I see there's, like, land all, like, here and land over here.
I lost the road.
Were we supposed to turn on the ice? If she drives onto thin ice, her rig could break through.
But stopping a 12-ton truck on the frozen lake could also put too much stress on the ice.
I don't know if I'm going the right way or not, but that way, that the road goes, I don't see land.
I'm going to get out and check it.
Out of options, Lisa makes the call to stop.
How do you get lost on a lake? I don't know, but I just did it.
It'll help her get her bearings but the dead weight of the truck is pressuring the ice below.
Where the hell are we? There's a lot of trees and openness.
I mean, I wish I could see something.
- As Lisa tries to find her way - Yee-haw! VP Express boss Hugh Rowland's finding his groove.
It's a money day.
We have pretty good business partners looking for stations in Wasagamack, and that's the coolest thing, 'cause nobody has ever had Wasagamack covered.
We got it covered.
He's keeping up with demand on their season-long, half-million-dollar contract, while his new drivers take on even more new jobs.
We sent Todd and Derek and Art to Tadoule Lake.
They'll be on their way back today.
If everything works out good, the way we want it to, it's a hell of a payday.
But 280 miles north in Lynn Lake, things aren't going as planned for the other drivers at VP Express.
We're getting ready to haul into Lynn Lake.
This is my big moment, eh? This here is.
Positive to positive.
Not good.
This haul was supposed to be a redemption run - for Art Burke - Last chance.
After the bosses gave him a last-chance ultimatum.
But an exploding battery shut down one truck Go rinse it off.
And showered convoy partners Todd Dewey and Derek Vivier in corrosive acid.
Looks like we're going to be rolling.
Today the convoy's ready to get back on the road, but they're over a day behind on the mission to recover equipment from Tadoule Lake.
Bring it on, Art.
All set.
Officially on the ice road.
Here we go! With all the situations that happened with my truck-- losing an alternator, blowing a battery-- that's just a part about being up here, trucking the ice road.
You don't know what's going to happen.
My face was a-burning.
It felt like a total chemical burn on the whole top left side of my head.
And that was pretty much what happens if you get battery acid on you.
You know, I'm glad I made it to where I did-- Ooh.
Ooh, that's a brutal bump.
It gets pretty brutal right there, Art.
You might want to slow down a bit.
Even better one here, buddy.
This is a pretty snarly road, eh? Oh! We must've been airborne.
The fucking wheels had to be off the fucking ground there somewheres, buddy.
Holy fuck.
This is insane, man.
Oh, you fucking licker! Holy smokes.
We got some steep hills coming up here, so you're just going to have to kind of beat yourself up, get your speed up, and make it.
That's just kind of the way it is, so hang on, buddy.
Still 300 miles from their loads, there's no end in sight for the battered convoy.
That was the roughest spot in the whole road.
I know that everybody's tired and worn out, but we've got to push through and deal with the roads and take it as it is.
- Coming up - Whoa! The winter road beats drivers into submission.
My blood is absolutely boiling.
This is bullshit! Burn this right to the fucking ground.
I don't give a fuck! And the King of Obsolete cracks up.
Whoa! Fuck! In the Canadian back country.
We are on the road again.
Polar driver Darrell Ward's ready to turn and burn.
Yep, I'm on the Oxford House ice road.
Never been on this road before, so I don't know what to expect.
He's racing to get a load of cement bags to the town of Oxford House and then pick up a backhaul bound for Winnipeg.
"Warning! Winter survival equipment is recommended.
" Winter survival equipment-- five gallons of gas and a match.
I'm ready.
Oh, there's a pretty good hill.
Well, we're starting to get into the rough of it now.
Whoa! Holy shit! Ooh.
Look at that.
Right into the shit.
You know, I wasn't counting on this road being this slick.
I didn't realize.
You know, that trailer's sliding back and forth, giving the old "crack the whip" action.
Fighting for traction, Darrell plows ahead to claim the backhaul waiting at the other end of the road.
Man, this road is slick! I can't hardly keep that trailer behind me.
Easy! Watch it! Ooh-hoo.
Whoa.
Wow, it really got fucked.
Come on! You know, this is a deadly job, deadly job, but I need as many loads as I can get.
That smoke didn't do my chest any good.
Alex Debogorski's glad to be awake after his truck caught fire last night.
See, this is little thing that burnt right there.
It didn't do any further burning last night, it isn't burning this morning, so I survived the night.
He's still gotta make this last delivery for Polar's $100,000 contract with the town of Shamattawa.
Okay.
Oy.
Smell smoke in that.
The nearest mechanic is hundreds of miles away, so Alex has no choice but to keep going.
I'm ready for another adventuresome day with a half-burnt truck.
While the battle between Polar and VP Express rages on the end of the road Yeah, we're loading up this building material.
They're going to build three houses in Lac Brochet.
The self-proclaimed King of Obsolete, Joey Barnes, is gearing up for another mission.
This is raw material going up that's gonna support the community.
It's going to create jobs for these people in the summer to build homes.
So we haul in this building supply, we'll go back next year, and there's those houses, where we dropped it off, so that's amazing when you see that.
I don't like to get mushy, but, you know, it feels good.
He's hauling lumber to the remote town of Lac Brochet.
And to get the job done, he's pulling out a resurrected big rig he calls The Screaming Ford.
When you drive the Screaming Ford, you gotta make it scream for mercy.
Back in the '70s, when these trucks were brand-new, you were told, "get in the truck, slam your fingers in the door, and drive it mad.
" That's your Screamin' 318 Detroit engine.
Nothing fancy, but it makes me money.
Without modern electronics, the King can service the truck where there are no mechanics.
I've had the truck for 20-some years, and I love it.
Now we got this CB radio thing here, and we monitor it there.
And we got these little sticky things.
That's hours of excitement.
Joining the King is rookie partner Jonathan Weibe.
He'll help the King move more supplies but could be a liability on the road.
Every now and then, I get this wanderlust.
I gotta move, I gotta do things, so I like doing things out of the ordinary.
We're packed and ready to go.
We're going to head to Lac Brochet.
Okay, come on up, Jonathan.
The trip to Lac Brochet will take the King along a winding, 200-mile trail, over a minefield of thin ice, where pools of flowing water threaten to swallow any truck that tries to cross.
Hey, we're coming up to the start of the winter road.
This road is actually a cow train trail, so they took the road from a cow train trail and built it a road.
I have respect for this road 'cause I've had a few incidents on this road.
I've pooped my pants on these roads.
You come over the hill on the S-curve and you're meeting another vehicle, and you'll never forget the expression on those people's face as you go by, and your mirrors are ripped off.
Hey, Jonathan.
Go ahead.
Okay, we're starting the S-curves.
Okay.
So you have to drive the road and respect the road.
And, of course, you soil your undies.
That's a fact of life.
While the King heads north We're just rolling in to Tadoule Lake.
We made it, we're here, and the trucks did real good.
Things are finally looking up for VP Express drivers Todd Dewey, Art Burke, and Derek Vivier.
Rollin' into town there, boy.
Between the three of us, we're picking up an empty trailer, a trailer full of pallets, and a cement truck.
After days of setbacks, Art's last-chance run is back on track, as the convoy closes in on the equipment they've been sent to recover.
The best-case scenario is that the loads are ready to go and we don't have a long time to wait, or this big hold-up wait going on.
Todd breaks from the convoy to pick up his cement truck on the other side of town, while Art and Derek go after the trailers.
Here's our trailers right here.
Hope that's not it in the snow there beside the village, is it? Yep.
What the fuck? What a mess back here.
We got a bunch of snow here we got to get rid of 'cause there's no way we're going to get these trailers out of here.
It's going to be an adventurous day, that's for sure.
Just one fuck-up after another fuck-up, and I know fucking well when I get it that the wheels are not going to turn on this.
This thing is all covered in snow, his is facing up the other way, and they knew we were coming.
They should have had this fucking act together, buddy.
Another fuck-up.
Across town, Todd's 21-ton cement truck isn't looking any better.
It hasn't been touched.
It hasn't been started.
It doesn't have any batteries in it.
There is no way in hell that we have any means whatsoever to even begin to get this thing on the freaking load bed.
You know, I don't get paid to come up here and be a fucking mechanic and turn wrenches and try to get it fired up for days on end.
This is just a fucked-up situation, and I'm livid about it.
My blood is absolutely boiling.
This is bullshit! - Coming up - Ah, this doesn't look good.
The King goes down.
Whoa! - In Manitoba, Canada - We'll seize on across.
If it breaks, I'm swimming.
Polar driver Lisa Kelly is lost on a giant lake and in danger of driving onto thin ice.
So crazy.
I don't know if I'm going the right way or not.
I guess we'll find out when we do or don't make it.
See houses.
I think we're getting near the shore.
Better not start cracking.
The edges is where it's supposed to be scary anyway.
Okay, we're on the other side.
I made it! I'm gonna get out of here, put some distance between me and that lake.
She's on a mission to recover equipment that's been stuck on the winter road since last season.
So it looks like we're getting to the town of Pauingassi, which is where my stuck trailer is, which is the part that I'm nervous about.
We're slightly pressed for time, but I'm really hoping to get this trailer out of here before it gets dark.
Once it gets dark, it's gonna make my job twice as hard.
Okay, red building.
We'll follow the dog.
The dog knows the way.
I gotta find my trailer.
- The trailers are frozen in place - Let's see here.
And if she can't move them, the job's over.
Ay, ay, ay.
Oh, that landing gear looks so frozen.
I'm going to have to get out the shovel.
I gotta dig out tracks so I can get underneath of it.
Oh, my.
It's gonna be a while.
While Lisa tries to dig up another load for Polar - On the winter road to Lac Brochet - Take one step at a time on this road.
The roads can be good, but I can make a mistake.
The King of Obsolete tackles the rugged bush country in his Screaming Ford Hey, Jonathan, we'll be going down a hill.
While rookie partner Jonathan Weibe follows behind.
So we're just coming up to the kilometer 77 water hole.
So we'll check it out and see what that brings.
In the summer, Manitoba's covered in lakes, ponds, and open water, but in winter, these unmarked pools turn the trail into a minefield of thin ice.
If you have water pooling underneath the ice there, it looks smooth, but it actually-- the water erodes the ice from underneath.
You actually can break through.
Last year, I had a fully loaded trailer, and the trailer broke through and did some damage.
Two kilometers to go, and then we get wet.
We're now at the water hole.
Ah, this doesn't look good.
When we try to run this, it's gonna be very interesting.
Doesn't look all that friendly.
Now that it's so cold this morning, the ice is-- the water's flowing up and layering and layering.
I'll go first.
If I get stuck, you pull me out.
Yeah.
If you get stuck, I'll pull you out.
And I'll only charge you a beer.
I'll go across to the other side, and I'll wait for you.
The King takes the lead across the fragile ice.
Come on through.
Now it's Jonathan's turn.
Whoa! Fuck! In the Canadian wilderness Come on through.
The King of Obsolete's convoy is on thin ice.
Whoa! Fuck! Don't stop, Jonathan.
I didn't expect it.
All of a sudden, the truck just kind of slid to an angle.
I think he broke some of the ice going through, and then I just kind of solved the rest of the problem there.
We came across this water hole.
We're all wet.
Now we'll try this hill.
Hopefully, I won't screw up my shifting.
While the King presses on So these are the two trailers that we're hooking onto.
That's gonna be a mission in itself.
The VP Express convoy is stuck in place.
It's all covered in fucking snow here.
They gotta dig the fucking snow out so I can get underneath that cocksucker and take it the fuck out of here.
Art Burke's last-chance mission has been a challenge at every turn.
I'm going to give her a little tug, see what happens.
He's fighting to keep his job.
- So go one tire length over.
- Yeah.
Now straight back.
Yup.
Whoa! Whoa! Fuck! - Did I go over it? - Yeah, you went right over it.
Art missed the pin that'll hook up the trailer and he can't get an angle to lock it in.
You gotta crank it up.
It went right over.
That's pretty close right there.
Pull forward.
Okay, I will try it again.
Come on! Go, go, go, go, go.
Fucking got her.
Going to get the wheels turning and get the fuck out of here, buddy.
Yeah, once you start, don't stop! Yee-haw! Well, that's one down.
Now let's go deal with the other one.
The first trailer's free, and with extra space to maneuver, Derek makes quick work of the second trailer.
That's what I'm talking about.
We are on the move.
- And across town - Here comes the cat right now.
Todd Dewey sourced a tractor to get his truck loaded.
Hell, yeah.
We've succeeded in what we came here to do.
It is what it is.
After three days and nearly 1,000 miles, the convoy's got their loads.
We got it loaded up.
You know, it was a little bit of a fight, but here we go.
But now they gotta get back.
Polar driver Lisa Kelly's load is still buried.
This is fucked! I'm glad I brought extra clothes, 'cause my socks are soaked.
She's trying to recover the trailer with nothing but a shovel.
Great, and I got an audience too.
I'm wore out.
After hours of digging, there's nothing left for Lisa to do but go for it.
I'm gonna try to move this trailer.
Come on, baby.
I'm dragging the tire.
I thought I was.
It's rolling.
I'm just going to try to get it on the road, which means going through a damn snow bank.
Come on, baby, come on, baby, come on, baby! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Woo-hoo! That was a tough one.
You know, it's so easy to talk tough when you're not doing it.
I'm headed back to Winnipeg to do this all over again tomorrow.
While Lisa races back to Winnipeg - 300 miles north - I'm dying of old age already.
I really don't want to waste any more time.
Teammate Alex Debogorski is driving a truck that should be in the shop to bring in the last load of Polar's contract with the town of Shamattawa.
Okay, let's see if I can remember where I'm going here.
A rolling disaster! All season, Polar drivers have faced the brutal - road to the remote village - Great balls of fire! We're here.
And now, thanks to Alex, Polar's making good on their $100,000 contract.
Truck caught fire in the middle of the night.
- What happened? - I don't know what the heck.
Some module under the dash started smoking.
It was pouring out of there.
I thought we were done.
You got your 8-track fixed? Yeah.
While Alex scores a major victory for Polar Industries Well, I just pulled in, and I'm going to sit right here and figure out where I'm going and unload this.
Teammate Darrell ward's also chalking up another load for the company.
I'm going to start pulling my straps off And get my job done.
Hopefully, I got a backhaul going out of here.
And he's looking to pick up some extra cash with a backhaul for the return trip to Winnipeg.
How we doing, guys? So far, so good.
You? Oh, not too bad, not too bad.
- I was kind of hoping for-- - I got nothing for you to take out.
- You don't have a backhaul for me? - Nope.
Who told you you had a backhaul? Uh, Polar.
Well, no backhaul.
I guess I'm on my way out of here.
Oh! Darrell's out to maximize his load count, and this isn't the first time a promised backhaul hasn't come through.
Mark tells me I got a backhaul, and I don't.
I ask him about my backhaul.
He didn't know anything about it.
Looked at me like I didn't know what the hell I was talking about, and I hate it when people put me in a spot like that.
Pisses me off.
Don't tell me I got a backhaul when I don't.
You know, I don't-- I don't get paid a dime when I'm not hauling a load.
Now Darrell will face the You don't give a fuck about my loads, evidently.
Next time I go out, you tell me I have a fucking backhaul, I want paperwork so I can hand it to the motherfucker, so I don't look like a dumbass.
Time to change the fucking rules to this game.
- Coming up - I'm going to take this little bit left in the tank and burn this fucking thing.
The breaking point.
I'm not very happy with Polar right now.
I need to get shit straightened out with Mark.
- In northern Manitoba - We'll just bounce along.
The King of Obsolete and rookie partner Jonathan Weibe are hauling lumber for the remote community of Lac Brochet.
I'm staying over to this side, where the snow is.
Snow on the ice road gives you traction.
The center is polished bare, so it's slippery.
To keep his Screaming Ford truck barreling forward, the King's got his own way of driving.
It may look like I'm drunk driving 'cause I'm all over the road, but I'm driving the road according to the conditions.
Uh-oh.
Here's the hill.
Kilometer 666, number of the beast.
Screaming Ford's pulling pretty good.
Up we go.
And I'm gonna ricochet off the snow banks.
At kilometer 66.
6, Ricochet Hill requires a tricky maneuver.
There's the snow.
Snow equals traction.
I'm sliding towards the snow bank, knowing that as soon as the steering tire hits the snow, it'll start to steer.
The only way to find traction on this slick hill is by driving into the snow bank then quickly ricochet out to avoid going in the ditch.
So I can't back off on the gas.
I can't let fear and common sense hold me back.
I just got to hold it in, back off, and ricochet off the snowbank, re-correct off the other snowbank.
It's a fact of life.
We do it all the time.
And here comes Jonathan.
He's doing all right.
We call that little hill we did, that little bounce off the snowbank, Ricochet.
We've finally arrived in Lac Brochet.
The King and Jonathan reach the offload site and drop off the lumber that'll be used to build houses in the summer.
Gotta put the fur on, get the dinner jacket, and we're ready to go.
We're in the beautiful town of Lac Brochet, and we're about to get the trucks unloaded here.
Just going to get these straps off, and then we'll be on our way.
We got the job done.
That's why the customer calls us, 'cause we handle it.
It's a fact of life.
the VP Express convoy is heading back to Winnipeg.
Now we're just starting out our trail here, right back to Winnipeg.
We're all pretty exhausted from this trip to Tadoule Lake.
Yeah, I'll be very happy when it's over.
I'm supposed to be Supposed to be running the fucking company.
The mission's worn them all down You know, I don't get paid to come up here and be a fucking mechanic.
It's just a fucked-up situation.
This fucking thing is all covered in snow.
His is facing up the other way.
Another fuck-up.
And the grueling days on the road have taken their toll.
You know, when I got dispatched to come and get this oversized load, I was told that, that it was started, running, ready to load, and it wasn't.
But you know, it is what it is now.
It's water under the bridge.
Hopefully we don't run into many more obstacles along the way here.
- But for Art - I don't give a fuck about any of this.
The brutal trip is the final straw.
I mean, I'm not making fuck-all doing this.
This is trip three.
You know, I come down here to make some money.
I'd like to make enough, for fucks sake, to at least pay my plane ticket home.
And the ice road trucker from Yellowknife has finally had enough of VP Express.
I'm going to take this little bit left in the tank and burn this fucking thing.
Burn this right to the ground, go right in the office and not say a single word, just every fucking bit of strength I've got in me, right in the fucking teeth.
I can't see me ever working for these fuckers again, man.
the road back to Winnipeg I need to get shit straightened out with Mark here.
Rival Darrell Ward's also fuming over a promised backhaul that didn't come through.
I'm not very happy with Polar right now.
The way it's working for me right now, not getting my backhauls, and the bullshit you know, doesn't pay me a dime.
I'm here for myself, my family, and my future.
If it's not working for me, I'm not staying.
Here's your truck.
Have at it.
Next time on Ice Road Truckers Fix the motherfucker! That's your fucking job! Get the fuck out of my fucking shop! Two drivers on the - verge of calling it quits - Fuck the cameraman.
I want out of here.
I want off the property.
will change the war in Manitoba Sinking right in there.
Get that thing out.
And force everyone to up their game.
I don't know what my game plan is.
Don't die?
I'm gonna have to put my Hatfield-McCoy hat on here shortly.
The war between Polar Industries and VP Express - gets messy - The way it's working for me right now, not getting my backhauls, doesn't pay me a dime.
I need to get shit straightened out with Mark here.
And drivers have had enough.
Burnin' this right to the ground.
This is just a fucked up situation.
I'm fed up with it.
While up north, the King of Obsolete - The King of Obsolete - Aw, this doesn't look good.
breaks through.
Whoa! Fuck! You know, we are number one, and we'll stay number one.
For weeks, Polar Industries has been running strong Got our loads delivered for Team Polar.
But VP Express mounted an offensive by landing new contracts Now you picked up 25 more loads, you said? And bringing on defecting drivers.
I'm glad to hear he's coming over here.
I like him.
And now Hugh and Vlad have gotten Mark's attention.
Is he just gonna stop there? I have a disgruntled employee who is a security threat here at my building.
In the far reaches of northern Manitoba Well, I'm gonna jump out there, freeze my rear end, take a quick look underneath, see if we got any oil leaks, look at the load.
Alex Debogorski is shut down on the side of the road.
Looks nice and dry under there.
I absolutely can't see nothing.
You smell that? - What the hell? - Yeah, I smell it.
I smell electrical smell again.
It's getting awful strong in here.
Holy mackerel! Get out of the truck! Oh! That's going to be the end of that truck.
I can't see no flames.
Well, something caught fire underneath the dash.
But it seems to have gone out.
I've never seen smoke come out like that without a truck burning down.
There's no sign of flames, but air's leaking behind the dash.
There are some wires burnt underneath the dash.
When the wires started burning, they melted a hole in the air line, so the air line started blowing on the fire, and it seemed to have blew the fire out.
Go figure.
I don't know.
The air leak's fixed with a hose clamp, but the source of the fire is still a mystery.
I thought the truck was burnt.
Any fire I've seen that started like that, it-- it would, uh, burn the whole truck.
We're still appealing to the Good Lord's sense of humor, so that's good.
So the question is whether I should sleep in here or not.
Hundreds of miles from help, his truck is the only shelter for the night.
The worst-case scenario, the truck burns in the middle of the night, and I'm sleeping here, and I just keep right on sleeping.
I am bobtailing down the winter road.
Polar teammate Lisa Kelly is taking on one of the toughest assignments in Manitoba.
We're going to Pauingassi to pick up a trailer and haul it back to Winnipeg.
When the winter roads melt away, any equipment that doesn't make it out is stranded sinking into the soft ground and freezing in ice.
Drivers can only attempt to dig it out once the roads reopen a year later.
This trailer that's in Pauingassi has been sitting there for a year or so.
So I don't know what kind of challenges I'm going to encounter when I get there, but I brought a shovel and tools and all kinds of stuff.
I think we're coming up to Fishing Lake.
It's a really big lake, which is my first ever lake crossing.
I've been on tundra, I've been on river, I've been on ocean, but I've never been on lake.
So I'm not sure what to expect.
We're definitely in the middle of the lake, though.
Fishing Lake has over multiple ice roads rated for different weights.
I can't see the other side.
I see there's, like, land all, like, here and land over here.
I lost the road.
Were we supposed to turn on the ice? If she drives onto thin ice, her rig could break through.
But stopping a 12-ton truck on the frozen lake could also put too much stress on the ice.
I don't know if I'm going the right way or not, but that way, that the road goes, I don't see land.
I'm going to get out and check it.
Out of options, Lisa makes the call to stop.
How do you get lost on a lake? I don't know, but I just did it.
It'll help her get her bearings but the dead weight of the truck is pressuring the ice below.
Where the hell are we? There's a lot of trees and openness.
I mean, I wish I could see something.
- As Lisa tries to find her way - Yee-haw! VP Express boss Hugh Rowland's finding his groove.
It's a money day.
We have pretty good business partners looking for stations in Wasagamack, and that's the coolest thing, 'cause nobody has ever had Wasagamack covered.
We got it covered.
He's keeping up with demand on their season-long, half-million-dollar contract, while his new drivers take on even more new jobs.
We sent Todd and Derek and Art to Tadoule Lake.
They'll be on their way back today.
If everything works out good, the way we want it to, it's a hell of a payday.
But 280 miles north in Lynn Lake, things aren't going as planned for the other drivers at VP Express.
We're getting ready to haul into Lynn Lake.
This is my big moment, eh? This here is.
Positive to positive.
Not good.
This haul was supposed to be a redemption run - for Art Burke - Last chance.
After the bosses gave him a last-chance ultimatum.
But an exploding battery shut down one truck Go rinse it off.
And showered convoy partners Todd Dewey and Derek Vivier in corrosive acid.
Looks like we're going to be rolling.
Today the convoy's ready to get back on the road, but they're over a day behind on the mission to recover equipment from Tadoule Lake.
Bring it on, Art.
All set.
Officially on the ice road.
Here we go! With all the situations that happened with my truck-- losing an alternator, blowing a battery-- that's just a part about being up here, trucking the ice road.
You don't know what's going to happen.
My face was a-burning.
It felt like a total chemical burn on the whole top left side of my head.
And that was pretty much what happens if you get battery acid on you.
You know, I'm glad I made it to where I did-- Ooh.
Ooh, that's a brutal bump.
It gets pretty brutal right there, Art.
You might want to slow down a bit.
Even better one here, buddy.
This is a pretty snarly road, eh? Oh! We must've been airborne.
The fucking wheels had to be off the fucking ground there somewheres, buddy.
Holy fuck.
This is insane, man.
Oh, you fucking licker! Holy smokes.
We got some steep hills coming up here, so you're just going to have to kind of beat yourself up, get your speed up, and make it.
That's just kind of the way it is, so hang on, buddy.
Still 300 miles from their loads, there's no end in sight for the battered convoy.
That was the roughest spot in the whole road.
I know that everybody's tired and worn out, but we've got to push through and deal with the roads and take it as it is.
- Coming up - Whoa! The winter road beats drivers into submission.
My blood is absolutely boiling.
This is bullshit! Burn this right to the fucking ground.
I don't give a fuck! And the King of Obsolete cracks up.
Whoa! Fuck! In the Canadian back country.
We are on the road again.
Polar driver Darrell Ward's ready to turn and burn.
Yep, I'm on the Oxford House ice road.
Never been on this road before, so I don't know what to expect.
He's racing to get a load of cement bags to the town of Oxford House and then pick up a backhaul bound for Winnipeg.
"Warning! Winter survival equipment is recommended.
" Winter survival equipment-- five gallons of gas and a match.
I'm ready.
Oh, there's a pretty good hill.
Well, we're starting to get into the rough of it now.
Whoa! Holy shit! Ooh.
Look at that.
Right into the shit.
You know, I wasn't counting on this road being this slick.
I didn't realize.
You know, that trailer's sliding back and forth, giving the old "crack the whip" action.
Fighting for traction, Darrell plows ahead to claim the backhaul waiting at the other end of the road.
Man, this road is slick! I can't hardly keep that trailer behind me.
Easy! Watch it! Ooh-hoo.
Whoa.
Wow, it really got fucked.
Come on! You know, this is a deadly job, deadly job, but I need as many loads as I can get.
That smoke didn't do my chest any good.
Alex Debogorski's glad to be awake after his truck caught fire last night.
See, this is little thing that burnt right there.
It didn't do any further burning last night, it isn't burning this morning, so I survived the night.
He's still gotta make this last delivery for Polar's $100,000 contract with the town of Shamattawa.
Okay.
Oy.
Smell smoke in that.
The nearest mechanic is hundreds of miles away, so Alex has no choice but to keep going.
I'm ready for another adventuresome day with a half-burnt truck.
While the battle between Polar and VP Express rages on the end of the road Yeah, we're loading up this building material.
They're going to build three houses in Lac Brochet.
The self-proclaimed King of Obsolete, Joey Barnes, is gearing up for another mission.
This is raw material going up that's gonna support the community.
It's going to create jobs for these people in the summer to build homes.
So we haul in this building supply, we'll go back next year, and there's those houses, where we dropped it off, so that's amazing when you see that.
I don't like to get mushy, but, you know, it feels good.
He's hauling lumber to the remote town of Lac Brochet.
And to get the job done, he's pulling out a resurrected big rig he calls The Screaming Ford.
When you drive the Screaming Ford, you gotta make it scream for mercy.
Back in the '70s, when these trucks were brand-new, you were told, "get in the truck, slam your fingers in the door, and drive it mad.
" That's your Screamin' 318 Detroit engine.
Nothing fancy, but it makes me money.
Without modern electronics, the King can service the truck where there are no mechanics.
I've had the truck for 20-some years, and I love it.
Now we got this CB radio thing here, and we monitor it there.
And we got these little sticky things.
That's hours of excitement.
Joining the King is rookie partner Jonathan Weibe.
He'll help the King move more supplies but could be a liability on the road.
Every now and then, I get this wanderlust.
I gotta move, I gotta do things, so I like doing things out of the ordinary.
We're packed and ready to go.
We're going to head to Lac Brochet.
Okay, come on up, Jonathan.
The trip to Lac Brochet will take the King along a winding, 200-mile trail, over a minefield of thin ice, where pools of flowing water threaten to swallow any truck that tries to cross.
Hey, we're coming up to the start of the winter road.
This road is actually a cow train trail, so they took the road from a cow train trail and built it a road.
I have respect for this road 'cause I've had a few incidents on this road.
I've pooped my pants on these roads.
You come over the hill on the S-curve and you're meeting another vehicle, and you'll never forget the expression on those people's face as you go by, and your mirrors are ripped off.
Hey, Jonathan.
Go ahead.
Okay, we're starting the S-curves.
Okay.
So you have to drive the road and respect the road.
And, of course, you soil your undies.
That's a fact of life.
While the King heads north We're just rolling in to Tadoule Lake.
We made it, we're here, and the trucks did real good.
Things are finally looking up for VP Express drivers Todd Dewey, Art Burke, and Derek Vivier.
Rollin' into town there, boy.
Between the three of us, we're picking up an empty trailer, a trailer full of pallets, and a cement truck.
After days of setbacks, Art's last-chance run is back on track, as the convoy closes in on the equipment they've been sent to recover.
The best-case scenario is that the loads are ready to go and we don't have a long time to wait, or this big hold-up wait going on.
Todd breaks from the convoy to pick up his cement truck on the other side of town, while Art and Derek go after the trailers.
Here's our trailers right here.
Hope that's not it in the snow there beside the village, is it? Yep.
What the fuck? What a mess back here.
We got a bunch of snow here we got to get rid of 'cause there's no way we're going to get these trailers out of here.
It's going to be an adventurous day, that's for sure.
Just one fuck-up after another fuck-up, and I know fucking well when I get it that the wheels are not going to turn on this.
This thing is all covered in snow, his is facing up the other way, and they knew we were coming.
They should have had this fucking act together, buddy.
Another fuck-up.
Across town, Todd's 21-ton cement truck isn't looking any better.
It hasn't been touched.
It hasn't been started.
It doesn't have any batteries in it.
There is no way in hell that we have any means whatsoever to even begin to get this thing on the freaking load bed.
You know, I don't get paid to come up here and be a fucking mechanic and turn wrenches and try to get it fired up for days on end.
This is just a fucked-up situation, and I'm livid about it.
My blood is absolutely boiling.
This is bullshit! - Coming up - Ah, this doesn't look good.
The King goes down.
Whoa! - In Manitoba, Canada - We'll seize on across.
If it breaks, I'm swimming.
Polar driver Lisa Kelly is lost on a giant lake and in danger of driving onto thin ice.
So crazy.
I don't know if I'm going the right way or not.
I guess we'll find out when we do or don't make it.
See houses.
I think we're getting near the shore.
Better not start cracking.
The edges is where it's supposed to be scary anyway.
Okay, we're on the other side.
I made it! I'm gonna get out of here, put some distance between me and that lake.
She's on a mission to recover equipment that's been stuck on the winter road since last season.
So it looks like we're getting to the town of Pauingassi, which is where my stuck trailer is, which is the part that I'm nervous about.
We're slightly pressed for time, but I'm really hoping to get this trailer out of here before it gets dark.
Once it gets dark, it's gonna make my job twice as hard.
Okay, red building.
We'll follow the dog.
The dog knows the way.
I gotta find my trailer.
- The trailers are frozen in place - Let's see here.
And if she can't move them, the job's over.
Ay, ay, ay.
Oh, that landing gear looks so frozen.
I'm going to have to get out the shovel.
I gotta dig out tracks so I can get underneath of it.
Oh, my.
It's gonna be a while.
While Lisa tries to dig up another load for Polar - On the winter road to Lac Brochet - Take one step at a time on this road.
The roads can be good, but I can make a mistake.
The King of Obsolete tackles the rugged bush country in his Screaming Ford Hey, Jonathan, we'll be going down a hill.
While rookie partner Jonathan Weibe follows behind.
So we're just coming up to the kilometer 77 water hole.
So we'll check it out and see what that brings.
In the summer, Manitoba's covered in lakes, ponds, and open water, but in winter, these unmarked pools turn the trail into a minefield of thin ice.
If you have water pooling underneath the ice there, it looks smooth, but it actually-- the water erodes the ice from underneath.
You actually can break through.
Last year, I had a fully loaded trailer, and the trailer broke through and did some damage.
Two kilometers to go, and then we get wet.
We're now at the water hole.
Ah, this doesn't look good.
When we try to run this, it's gonna be very interesting.
Doesn't look all that friendly.
Now that it's so cold this morning, the ice is-- the water's flowing up and layering and layering.
I'll go first.
If I get stuck, you pull me out.
Yeah.
If you get stuck, I'll pull you out.
And I'll only charge you a beer.
I'll go across to the other side, and I'll wait for you.
The King takes the lead across the fragile ice.
Come on through.
Now it's Jonathan's turn.
Whoa! Fuck! In the Canadian wilderness Come on through.
The King of Obsolete's convoy is on thin ice.
Whoa! Fuck! Don't stop, Jonathan.
I didn't expect it.
All of a sudden, the truck just kind of slid to an angle.
I think he broke some of the ice going through, and then I just kind of solved the rest of the problem there.
We came across this water hole.
We're all wet.
Now we'll try this hill.
Hopefully, I won't screw up my shifting.
While the King presses on So these are the two trailers that we're hooking onto.
That's gonna be a mission in itself.
The VP Express convoy is stuck in place.
It's all covered in fucking snow here.
They gotta dig the fucking snow out so I can get underneath that cocksucker and take it the fuck out of here.
Art Burke's last-chance mission has been a challenge at every turn.
I'm going to give her a little tug, see what happens.
He's fighting to keep his job.
- So go one tire length over.
- Yeah.
Now straight back.
Yup.
Whoa! Whoa! Fuck! - Did I go over it? - Yeah, you went right over it.
Art missed the pin that'll hook up the trailer and he can't get an angle to lock it in.
You gotta crank it up.
It went right over.
That's pretty close right there.
Pull forward.
Okay, I will try it again.
Come on! Go, go, go, go, go.
Fucking got her.
Going to get the wheels turning and get the fuck out of here, buddy.
Yeah, once you start, don't stop! Yee-haw! Well, that's one down.
Now let's go deal with the other one.
The first trailer's free, and with extra space to maneuver, Derek makes quick work of the second trailer.
That's what I'm talking about.
We are on the move.
- And across town - Here comes the cat right now.
Todd Dewey sourced a tractor to get his truck loaded.
Hell, yeah.
We've succeeded in what we came here to do.
It is what it is.
After three days and nearly 1,000 miles, the convoy's got their loads.
We got it loaded up.
You know, it was a little bit of a fight, but here we go.
But now they gotta get back.
Polar driver Lisa Kelly's load is still buried.
This is fucked! I'm glad I brought extra clothes, 'cause my socks are soaked.
She's trying to recover the trailer with nothing but a shovel.
Great, and I got an audience too.
I'm wore out.
After hours of digging, there's nothing left for Lisa to do but go for it.
I'm gonna try to move this trailer.
Come on, baby.
I'm dragging the tire.
I thought I was.
It's rolling.
I'm just going to try to get it on the road, which means going through a damn snow bank.
Come on, baby, come on, baby, come on, baby! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Woo-hoo! That was a tough one.
You know, it's so easy to talk tough when you're not doing it.
I'm headed back to Winnipeg to do this all over again tomorrow.
While Lisa races back to Winnipeg - 300 miles north - I'm dying of old age already.
I really don't want to waste any more time.
Teammate Alex Debogorski is driving a truck that should be in the shop to bring in the last load of Polar's contract with the town of Shamattawa.
Okay, let's see if I can remember where I'm going here.
A rolling disaster! All season, Polar drivers have faced the brutal - road to the remote village - Great balls of fire! We're here.
And now, thanks to Alex, Polar's making good on their $100,000 contract.
Truck caught fire in the middle of the night.
- What happened? - I don't know what the heck.
Some module under the dash started smoking.
It was pouring out of there.
I thought we were done.
You got your 8-track fixed? Yeah.
While Alex scores a major victory for Polar Industries Well, I just pulled in, and I'm going to sit right here and figure out where I'm going and unload this.
Teammate Darrell ward's also chalking up another load for the company.
I'm going to start pulling my straps off And get my job done.
Hopefully, I got a backhaul going out of here.
And he's looking to pick up some extra cash with a backhaul for the return trip to Winnipeg.
How we doing, guys? So far, so good.
You? Oh, not too bad, not too bad.
- I was kind of hoping for-- - I got nothing for you to take out.
- You don't have a backhaul for me? - Nope.
Who told you you had a backhaul? Uh, Polar.
Well, no backhaul.
I guess I'm on my way out of here.
Oh! Darrell's out to maximize his load count, and this isn't the first time a promised backhaul hasn't come through.
Mark tells me I got a backhaul, and I don't.
I ask him about my backhaul.
He didn't know anything about it.
Looked at me like I didn't know what the hell I was talking about, and I hate it when people put me in a spot like that.
Pisses me off.
Don't tell me I got a backhaul when I don't.
You know, I don't-- I don't get paid a dime when I'm not hauling a load.
Now Darrell will face the You don't give a fuck about my loads, evidently.
Next time I go out, you tell me I have a fucking backhaul, I want paperwork so I can hand it to the motherfucker, so I don't look like a dumbass.
Time to change the fucking rules to this game.
- Coming up - I'm going to take this little bit left in the tank and burn this fucking thing.
The breaking point.
I'm not very happy with Polar right now.
I need to get shit straightened out with Mark.
- In northern Manitoba - We'll just bounce along.
The King of Obsolete and rookie partner Jonathan Weibe are hauling lumber for the remote community of Lac Brochet.
I'm staying over to this side, where the snow is.
Snow on the ice road gives you traction.
The center is polished bare, so it's slippery.
To keep his Screaming Ford truck barreling forward, the King's got his own way of driving.
It may look like I'm drunk driving 'cause I'm all over the road, but I'm driving the road according to the conditions.
Uh-oh.
Here's the hill.
Kilometer 666, number of the beast.
Screaming Ford's pulling pretty good.
Up we go.
And I'm gonna ricochet off the snow banks.
At kilometer 66.
6, Ricochet Hill requires a tricky maneuver.
There's the snow.
Snow equals traction.
I'm sliding towards the snow bank, knowing that as soon as the steering tire hits the snow, it'll start to steer.
The only way to find traction on this slick hill is by driving into the snow bank then quickly ricochet out to avoid going in the ditch.
So I can't back off on the gas.
I can't let fear and common sense hold me back.
I just got to hold it in, back off, and ricochet off the snowbank, re-correct off the other snowbank.
It's a fact of life.
We do it all the time.
And here comes Jonathan.
He's doing all right.
We call that little hill we did, that little bounce off the snowbank, Ricochet.
We've finally arrived in Lac Brochet.
The King and Jonathan reach the offload site and drop off the lumber that'll be used to build houses in the summer.
Gotta put the fur on, get the dinner jacket, and we're ready to go.
We're in the beautiful town of Lac Brochet, and we're about to get the trucks unloaded here.
Just going to get these straps off, and then we'll be on our way.
We got the job done.
That's why the customer calls us, 'cause we handle it.
It's a fact of life.
the VP Express convoy is heading back to Winnipeg.
Now we're just starting out our trail here, right back to Winnipeg.
We're all pretty exhausted from this trip to Tadoule Lake.
Yeah, I'll be very happy when it's over.
I'm supposed to be Supposed to be running the fucking company.
The mission's worn them all down You know, I don't get paid to come up here and be a fucking mechanic.
It's just a fucked-up situation.
This fucking thing is all covered in snow.
His is facing up the other way.
Another fuck-up.
And the grueling days on the road have taken their toll.
You know, when I got dispatched to come and get this oversized load, I was told that, that it was started, running, ready to load, and it wasn't.
But you know, it is what it is now.
It's water under the bridge.
Hopefully we don't run into many more obstacles along the way here.
- But for Art - I don't give a fuck about any of this.
The brutal trip is the final straw.
I mean, I'm not making fuck-all doing this.
This is trip three.
You know, I come down here to make some money.
I'd like to make enough, for fucks sake, to at least pay my plane ticket home.
And the ice road trucker from Yellowknife has finally had enough of VP Express.
I'm going to take this little bit left in the tank and burn this fucking thing.
Burn this right to the ground, go right in the office and not say a single word, just every fucking bit of strength I've got in me, right in the fucking teeth.
I can't see me ever working for these fuckers again, man.
the road back to Winnipeg I need to get shit straightened out with Mark here.
Rival Darrell Ward's also fuming over a promised backhaul that didn't come through.
I'm not very happy with Polar right now.
The way it's working for me right now, not getting my backhauls, and the bullshit you know, doesn't pay me a dime.
I'm here for myself, my family, and my future.
If it's not working for me, I'm not staying.
Here's your truck.
Have at it.
Next time on Ice Road Truckers Fix the motherfucker! That's your fucking job! Get the fuck out of my fucking shop! Two drivers on the - verge of calling it quits - Fuck the cameraman.
I want out of here.
I want off the property.
will change the war in Manitoba Sinking right in there.
Get that thing out.
And force everyone to up their game.
I don't know what my game plan is.
Don't die?