[Warning: The below contains spoilers for Ice Road Truckers Season 12]
Ice Road Truckers returned to History Channel for Season 12 with an October 1 premiere. The popular series follows drivers making deliveries across dangerous routes in the harshest of winter. After eight years since Season 11, things have certainly changed, but viewers were able to catch up with several familiar faces and discover some new ones. Bill Danh, operations manager of Muskie Creek, brought Todd Dewey onboard. The dad of four daughters has been busy in the almost decade in between seasons enjoying family life. As an empty nester, his motivation for taking up the job was to make some money and build a nest egg to buy his own big rig. His first run involved 800 miles to Garden Hill to carry up backhaul in St. Theresa Point. There was some concerns from Bill, who wondered if Todd had lost his edge. This was a proving ground for him.
Todd Dewey (center) with others. (History Channel)
The run wasn’t easy as he ran into issues including drill bits sticking out on the passenger side. When Todd investigated, he had the idea to avoid catastrophes, which would be linking through a chain and wrapping it around a tree. He managed to slide these tons of screw piles back on the trailer. It then was about finishing the job of moving 45,000 pounds of steel across the lake and then picking up another load. The unload wasn’t pretty, but Todd was able to offload the pallets. Todd’s mission then became hauling a boat back to Muskie Creek for repair. Boats were important for these remote areas in transporting supplies between communities. There was no margin of error. The bumpy ride caused some problems with the truck where the brakes completely locked. The bracket was also on the ground, which all meant he wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Elsewhere, Lisa Kelly also made the trek back. In the last decade, she bought her own truck and started a business. Her truck sat broken in Fairbanks, Alaska, and needs a lot of money really fast to get it going. She also worried that if she doesn’t get some cash, she’d have to start selling her 11 horses. Her first journey out wasn’t fun either. It was hard to tell the condition of the ice she would travel on due to all the snow. Could the ice hold the weight of her truck?
Shaun, Zach, and Riley Harris (History Channel)
She hoped for the best. Lisa listened for cracking, using the slow and steady approach. She passed signs that said thin ice and danger open water, but made it to the other side safely. The road was rough going up the final series of hills that were between her and the offload. Lisa heard a noise and found a hose came off that moves the compressed air that goes to the turbo and engine. She reattached the hose as the truck horns honked as she was blocking the way. Then it became a matter of if the truck would restart after cooling off. Thankfully it did.
The episode also introduced us to Scott “Scooter” Yuill, an ice road veteran who owned a couple of trucks and his own business for the last five years. He also owned a bar where the family also worked. He hoped the money he generated this season would help with upgrades. He was paired with a truck once used by a former trucker who died on duty two years ago. A sobering reminder just how dangerous this line of work could be. There were issues right out of the gate when Scott found the haul load was not conducive for traveling. The truck remained in the yard until it was deemed legal. He figured out a solution with the measurements and was off into the frozen wilderness.
Another name the premiere spotlighted was Shaun Harris, owner of Harris & Sons. The winter brought the thinnest ice, which at 18 inches, meant he couldn’t run his family business. He strategized alongside his sons Riley, described as hot-tempered and a hard worker, and Zach, the most relaxed and easy-going. Harris also had a third son named Chris, which happened to be a potbelly pig. This should create a fun dynamic in the weeks to come. That’s if they can get things rolling.
Ice Road Truckers, Wednesdays, 9:30/8:30c, History Channel