Transcript of live chat with Rick, from "Ice Road Truckers"
 

Transcript of live chat with Rick, from "Ice Road Truckers"
(I entered about 10 minutes after it started, some interesting info here)



|: Website question: What do you eat while driving?
|: Rick Yemm: 99 percent of the time I eat sandwiches. Sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
|: Ham, roast beef, egg salad. It's just easier to grab a bunch of sandwiches and go then to sit down and
|: eat, which takes too much time.
|: *
|: HugheyLewey-guest says: They drug test you once when you get there, do they do it anymore during the 12 months?
|: Rick Yemm: Only if there's an accident or something like that do you need to get tested again.
|: *
|: Or if they want to pick on you.
|: *
|: Website question: I am a rookie truck driver any advice ?
|: Rick Yemm: Yes, you'd be perfect for the winter roads, you have no bad habits.!
|: *
|: guest-Shelby-2 says: Are you really typing your answers or is someone composing and typing them for you?
|: Rick Yemm: I'm saying the answers and someone's typing them for me, I don't know how to type.
|: *
|: jay-guest says: Do people bring there own trucks up, or drive ones already there?
|: Rick Yemm: Some companies supply trucks and a lot of them bring in subcontractor truckers.
|: *
|: Website question: Who do you think is the most solid professional driver out of you six and why
|: Rick Yemm: I'd have to say it's a toss up between Alex and Jay. They both live there and deal with the people
|: all of the time. Alex because he has 11 kids and needs all of the money he can get.
|: Jay because he's young and takes his job pretty serious and becuase of the equipment he runs and he's good at his job.
|: *
|: Website question: Why dont u spred weight on wide tracks
|: Rick Yemm: We have trucks going northbound and southbound, we can only make the landcrossing
|: so wide because of environmental regulations. So, we only have so much to work with.
|: *
|: Website question: I haven't seen any Mack trucks yet. I'm from Mass. is this a regional thing?
|: Rick Yemm: No, there are a couple of Mack's up there, but they're kind of a thing of the past.
|: *
|: doc-guest says: What is your biggest concern doing this type of work, OTHER than going through the ice?
|: Rick Yemm: The biggest thing is being away from home, that's a long time to be away from home. I'm not
|: sure that classifies as a concern or not.
|: *
|: Sharon-guest says: Can you turn the camera off if you want to or is there a required amount of time for it to be on?
|: Rick Yemm: I have complete control of the mounted camera in my truck.
|: *
|: guest-Slick says: Do you pick what you want to pull?
|: Rick Yemm: No, Tlicho gives us the order and we go.
|: *
|: Website question: What's your favorite type of truck?
|: Rick Yemm: A Western Star.
|: *
|: Website question: What are the months that the road is open? Would greatly enjoy running the ice roads the rest of my life.
|: Rick Yemm: They're usually open sometime around the end of January and close about the first week of April.
|: *
|: llg-guest says: how are the lakes "tested" before trucks are able to drive on it?
|: Rick Yemm: A sonar machine is dragged across and it measures the ice.
|: *
|: kel-guest says: have you ever seen any animals stranded where they shouldnt be? what do u do
|: Rick Yemm: That's more like a security concern, we don't even worry about stuff like that.
|: *
|: guest-JamesC says: What do you think about comparisons between your show and Deadliest Catch?
|: Rick Yemm: I don't really think much about them, the comparisons are that we're both in extreme cold.
|: That's about the only comparison.
|: They're on a boat and I'm on a truck. We've got a guy named Hugh, and they've got a guy named Sig.
|: Taylor-guest says: What would make you stop driving on the ice road?
|: *
|: Rick Yemm: I don't think anything would stop me from doing it. Just me, if I didn't want to do it anymore.
|: *
|: guest-themine-2 says: if there is a truck coming northbound and you are going southbound, does the ice break open?
|: Rick Yemm: If you have two, one going north and one going south to about 3 to 4 miles per hour so you don't
|: have the inertia of both trucks working against each other and blow the ice out.
|: You need to slow down.
|: *
|: guest-Larry says: Does using chains on the ice crack it if the loads are heavy?
|: Rick Yemm: Yes, it does.
|: *
|: You don't use chains unless absolutely necessary.
|: *
|: guest-lornadoone says: is there a hospital nearby?
|: Rick Yemm: There's one in Yellowknife. If anything happens on the road you're flown there in a helicopter.
|: *
|: Chase-guest says: Do the trucks play tricks on each other?
|: Rick Yemm: Oh sure we do, it kills the monatony.
|: *
|: VLS-guest says: How has being seen on national TV changed your life?
|: Rick Yemm: People talk to me on the Internet now. It hasn't aired in my home country yet, so
|: I can't really answer other than the Internet.
|: *
|: okiemarine-guest says: dose the cold temps have any affect on you at all other than frost bite?
|: Rick Yemm: Well, your lungs can freeze if you start breathing too heavy. Hypothermia. You can look up
|: what happens to the body in extreme cold on the Internet, that'll probably tell you better than I could.
|: *
|: Chuck-guest says: Do the trucks have cruise control, or do you have to constantly stay on the throttle?
|: Rick Yemm: A lot of the cruise controls in the trucks will not work that slow, so we just stick on the throttle peddle.
|: *
|: bosco-guest says: how many times have you or your crew been stuck up there and is this a regular occurence?
|: Rick Yemm: Yes, extreme weather up there shuts the roads down frequently.
|: *
|: HugheyLewey-guest says: Do you watch the show and is there anything you wouldnt do in front of the camera again?
|: Rick Yemm: No, there's nothing I could say I wouldn't do again. I've seen segments of the show, not the full
|: show but enough to know what's happening.
|: *
|: doc-guest says: How were you approached to do the show to begin with?
|: Rick Yemm: I got a phone call.
|: *
|: Slick-guest says: Do you plan on having your own trucking company some day?
|: Rick Yemm: Hell no! I'm not a truck driver.
|: *
|: guest-Larry says: What type of boots to you wear to keep your feet so warm. I would like to buy a pair for when I ice fish....
|: Rick Yemm: Baffin make the best boots for the cold weather.
|: *
|: guest-dave says: have you ever seen the road break open
|: Rick Yemm: Yeah, it happens all of the time. It opens on a regular basis.
|: *
|: pedro-guest says: Do people get arrested on the Ice Road? Do police monitor it?
|: Rick Yemm: No police, but security is involved and if there's an incident or something happens
|: that the police need to be called in - they get called in.
|: *
|: Website question: What was your biggest distraction while driving on the ice road?
|: Rick Yemm: Just being away from home, thinking about home.
|: *
|: Website question: do you like the cold?
|: Rick Yemm: I don't think anyone with a sane mind likes the cold, but I can deal with it.
|: *
|: Website question: How do the drivers get paid? At the end of the season? Weekly? Cash or check? By who? Thank you very much!
|: Rick Yemm: I got paid by Hugh and I just took one big check at the end of the year and if I needed money
|: I just got an advance.
|: *
|: Website question: does any one drive a 379 peterbilt
|: Rick Yemm: There's all different types of trucks up there.
|: *
|: Website question: how much coffe do you drink?
|: Rick Yemm: Lots!
|: *
|: Website question: what is the fastest speed or average speed during on of your hauls? Thanks Rick. Keep on hauling.
|: Rick Yemm: 25 kilometers, that's what you do pretty much the whole time you're up there. Sometimes you go slower.
|: *
|: Website question: Rick have you ever had any close calls on the Ice Road?
|: Rick Yemm: No, I don't think I have actually.
|: I haven't spun out yet, haven't had to chain up. I've been pretty lucky.
|: *
|: Website question: What was your most fearful run?
|: Rick Yemm: Driving through a snowstorm, had to open my door and watch down the side of my truck for the
|: snow bank to get across the lake. It took hours to get across a small lake.
|: *

|: HugheyLewey-guest says: Hugh said he had drivers park their trucks and get flown out, why cant they fly deliveries instead?
|: And every time I hit the Ingrim Trail.
|: *
|: Rick Yemm: Not cost efficient. A lot of the stuff won't even fit on the plane, so they have to truck it in.
|: *
|: guest-Marvin says: Are you aloowed to have a friend come along to keep ya company?
|: Rick Yemm: Nope.
|: *
|: Website question: Hey, Rick--when are you going to retire?
|: Rick Yemm: When I'm rich enough to retire. I spend too much to retire. So I don't know.
|: *
|: Or if I win the lottery.
|: *
|: Website question: I spent years in school earning a masters of science degree; and now have a tie, suit and office job. Watching "Ice Road Truckers" has caused me to reevaluate my career choices. I really like the idea of being self-reliant, and on your own for long periods of time -- and I like to drive. What advise would you give someone like myself who wants to consider a truck driving career?
|: Rick Yemm: I'll trade you right now. I'll take the suit and tie job.
|: *
|: linda__g-guest says: So when spring comes along and the ice is starting to melt is it possible that a truck will get stuck at the minesbecause the icewon't be strong enough for them to drive back to base?
|: Rick Yemm: Yes, and they have to dismantle them and send them on a Herc back to town.
|: (a big plane)
|: *
|: Website question: are there driver limits for time behind the wheel?
|: *
|: Website question: Why don't they build a bridge or use boats in the summer to move the loads???
|: Rick Yemm: Because it's not one lake, there are 56 different lakes, so it's almost impossible
|: to build bridges across all of them.
|: And they don't want any damage done to the land crossings.
|: *
|: Website question: how old do you have to be to be an ice road trucker
|: Rick Yemm: You just have to have a big rig license. If you're old enough to have one
|: of those, you're old enough to drive the Ice Road. Jay started at 16.
|: *
|: Website question: why dont they dye the edges of the road red or something so it would be a lttle easier to see in the dark, seem like a few hit the edges for some reason
|: Rick Yemm: It wouldn't matter if there's dye on the road or not, they hit the edges because it's all sleet.
|: *
|: Website question: What did you do before your first trip as an ice road truck driver to prepare mentally, physically & emotionally for what you'd be facing?
|: Rick Yemm: Just like I said in Episode 1, no matter what you do you're not prepared for it until you actually do it.
|: *
|: The History Channel: Rick, thanks so much for being here today to answer everyone's questions! Is there anything you'd like to add before we have to end the chat?
|: Rick Yemm: Thank you all for chatting with me today. I'm on The History Channel
|: discussion boards for Ice Road Truckers all of the time.
|: And all the girls can send me their pictures :-)

Damn, I really love this show. I'll be interested to see at the end of the season what the final tally is of the money that the drivers make. I've read that they can make as high as six figures for the few months they are on the road, but going by last night's figures it would be appear they will end up in the $70,000 or so range.

I also noticed he skipped the question about the driver time regulations. It's 11 hours in the US before the drivers have to go down for 10 hours. I wonder of they have the same regulations in Canada...

I have it on DVR since the first episode, I love the show.. them drivers are fearless!

never heard of this before but i enjoyed reading the chat transcript.

so there are truckers up in the Arctic who drive across frozen lakes? why?

They are bringing supplies and equipment to the diamond mines in Canada. They only have a few months window to do it before the roads thaw.

Trucking supplies up to the diamond mines in the N.W.T.

You can check it out on youtube.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=pjPYHxYRVHs

I was watching one of the show yesterday it's pretty good... One thing's for sure, these guys have balls.

on Jimmy Kimmel https://youtube.com/watch?v=OolIGYE0ACc

I love that show! No one asked him when he peed and pooped :(

im not reading all that.... but good show, watched some last night.

One of the guys was shooting a pistol out the window of his cab. crazy fuckers.

personally, I thought the tuna cowboys show is alot more exciting, but a show or two squeezes out all the show worth watching.

that's fascinating stuff. amazing how resourceful human beings are.