How much do the ice road truckers make in a season
The Smart Trucking Survival Guide for the Trucker. Ice road trucking jobs in northern Canada….. Due to the dangerous conditions and the many unique challenges, these risky positions, pay more than the average professional driving job in the allotted time.
In spite of the many hardships of these jobs, many truckers from all over the world, attempt to pursue a driving career on the ice roads…. Make the big bucks during the short season! Ice road trucking is seasonal, as one might expect. The ice roads are only viable for two to three months of the year, depending entirely on the weather. Through these few months, the ice roads are well maintained and patrolled by both maintenance crews and enforcement personnel.
Gold mines in the north require everything from fuel for the equipment to food for their crews. The most cost effective way for these mines to receive their necessary supplies, is by truck.
Trucking their supplies even with the cost of maintaining the ice roads, is one third of the cost of having the supplies flown in… quite a cost savings. Some equipment needed for the gold mining operations are simply too big and heavy to be flown in. They must be brought in by truck.
Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories acts as the distribution point for all goods moving north to the mines. Weather permitting, the average trip from Yellowknife to the mines, takes one day. Work commences near the beginning of January each year and runs for a few months. The rigs on the ice roads deliver supplies needed in the diamond mines.
Trucks travel under 20 mph when loaded going to the mines and are able to travel a little faster, when unloaded, coming from the mines. Accommodation is provided by the trucking companies at no charge, as is the food at the camps. But the trucking companies strive to maximize the hours the truckers are on the move, as the season is so short.
The trucking companies take care of all the specialty training if a truck driver is new to the ice roads.
British 'ice road trucker' dies following his dream - Telegraph
Hundreds of seasonal ice road trucking jobs are available each year for those drivers who wish to apply. After the ice road trucking season is over each year, there are full time positions available when the ice roads are closed for the season. Canadian Hours of Service allow for 15 hours driving time per day. The speed limit on the ice roads is 20 mph. Stopping spots are few and far between.
Rest breaks are still included for on duty time for the hours of service. Canadian hours of service mandate only an 8 hour sleeper break between shifts and drivers are allowed to do split sleeper shifts, which is quite different than when truckers travel in the continental U.
Only a small number of truckers that chase after ice road trucking jobs, actually secure a job. However, like anything that seems to good to be true, there are some realities drivers who decide to pursue such an adventure, ought to be aware of. Trucks DO break through the ice and drivers MAY go for a swim! The following companies hire drivers to run the ice roads, but only RLC Robinson is a true ice road company.
They are the largest trucking company in the Northwest Territories. They own, build and maintain the ice roads. You can try contacting any of these companies directly. Some of the websites provide more detailed information.
These companies hire drivers for ice road trucking and they run year round.
However, they do have year round work. While each of these trucking companies may utilize ice roads to deliver to their customers in winter months, they do not specialize in ice road trucking jobs or service. However, if you desire the true ice road trucking experience, your best bet is to contact RTL Robinson Enterprises in Yellowknife and send in an application online.
I am getting a little tired of hearing about the ice roads out of Yellowknife, and how wonderful it is. I hauled those roads in the winter of into Snap Lake, Diavik, Lupin,and Jericho mines were some of my destinations.
I worked for the main trucking company on those roads at that time. During that season, one truck and driver went thru the ice and the driver died. It was a very low paying job at 24 cents a km. Well, you do the math. Any tying down loads, fueling, repairs, stuck in blizzards or anything else outside of driving, I did not get paid for.
British 'ice road trucker' dies following his dream - Telegraph
The food was pretty much non-existent and when you found something, usually sandwiches at checkpoints like Lockhart or Lac de Gras, you had to load up as there would not be much more. I eventually quit with about 20 other guys. I then flew from Yellowknife to Edmonton and hired on with a company driving a hay shaker moving oil rigs. This site contains affiliate links. If you click on one of the product or service links on this site, we may receive commissions if you purchase something.
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