Truckin on the ice roads?

here you go

http://www.iceroadtruckjobs.com/faq.htm

 

Ice roads here are a tough job.

They are not sending new truck up those roads so you need to be part truck driver, part diesel mechanic and part mcgyver.

 

easy enough for you to get a driving job in canada--just look it up on net--getting on the ice is a different storey tho--its not as busy as it was a few years ago--but if you want to immagrate here for driving --you should have no trouble--it will cost a bit--but not that much and you are kinda tied to that company for the first 2 yrs i believe--then you can go anywhere

 

Big Freight in Winnipeg
Barren Northern Transportation in Red Lake
Paul's Hauling in Winnipeg


Give those people a call and see if they will sponsor you.

Let me prequalify what I am about to say with the fact I have not driven a big truck on these roads but have driven smaller trucks.

Not all winter roads are strictly ice. As a matter of fact here most go over land. Land that is simply un-drivable in the summer.

It is 50km of swamp and forest hummocks followed by 3km ice crossing. The ice is easy. Go slow and you are golden. Getting across the "portages" is another story. Guy in front of you does not know how to drive and he spins with his chains on and the road is screwed.

The big tricks are the snow bridges over the creeks. They start packing snow over the creek and building it up and wider as they go. Eventually it is wide enough to get a truck over. These seem to be the big problems. Guys go over the sides and then the bridge is a just a tad bit narrower. Drive an 8 foot wide truck over a 8.25 foot wide bridge is scary. Especially when it is uneven, not flat and has a 5 foot drop off into a creek on either side. They usually resemble a table-top like in motor cross. Steep incline, flat on top, then steep decline. You need to get a good run to get up them but usually there is no room to do that.

The roads I have driven on here are nothing like those seen on Ice Road Truckers. I think Northern Manitoba is similar. The Ice Road Truckers from TV used to drive on the MacKenzie River, which is a long, wide slow moving river much much further north than here. The Dalton highway does not go over the ice at all. That rad looks like it is in pretty good shape.

The difference between those roads and these is the purpose. The ones on TV are to supply the mining industry, the ones here are to supply people. There have been a few episodes where they have taken loads to Reserves rather than drills and you can see the difference in the condition of the road.