Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/135388
Back on the ice (Continued from Page 36) horses, trucking, motorcycles. … That seems artful to me." The art of trucking is partly "trying to figure out how to get from here to there with this set of tools ... We might only have two straps and three chains" to get some piece of freight secured. How do you do it right, safely – and make it legal? Such dynamics have driven the Ice Road Truckers series' popularity. Kelly's return to the show on Canadian ice roads unfamiliar to her, fans hope, will deliver a further injection of excitement. Kelly says she's never had as much fun filming the series, this time working with Canadian ice roads hauler Polar Industries while on furlough from Carlile. The Canadian ice roads were tough, she says, but her "very informal" relationship with Polar's owner enabled no shortage of humor to cut the drama. Also, Kelly seems to have played the seasoned veteran this time around, comfortable in joking with the established owner. The veteran's role is deserved, says Carlile driver Carey Hall, who's also made appearances on Ice Road Truckers. Hall is the very definition of veteran, as his Alaskan experience reaches back to 1986. Among other things, he taught Kelly how to push-truck, using your unit with a special push-bumper to assist heavy hauls up steep, slick Dalton grades. "We went to Kenai one morning, and she wanted to learn," says Hall. "My truck had the push bumper on it, so we traded trucks – she had on a set of doubles, and I let her push me up all the hills coming back." Further practice developed Kelly's skill at it, Hall says, and today she's "mellowed out a lot. It takes a lot to get used to the Haul Road itself – dealing with some of the weather situations up there and everything else. She's definitely grown into it." On her first trip out during the new season's filming, her truck's owner told her, "It's rough in some spots," talking about her route. When she finally got out onto the ice, she told him, "This road is rough everywhere. I've never been beat to crap as much as this." All in all, though, she enjoyed the experience immensely. "I asked the guy if I could come back and work next winter," she says, but learned that would require a special visa. Meanwhile, her beloved Kenworth awaited her in Alaska. And home is where the heart is, of course – in this case, the work, too: "We were 250 loads behind here at home." Except for various trips to trucking festivals in the United States and abroad – most recently to the U.K.'s TruckFest in May – Kelly remains a loyal Carlile driver. More than 130,000 truck accessories at your fingertips! Now the industry's biggest and best selection of chrome, electronics, lights and other truck accessories is just a click away. Overdrivedigital.com has partnered with Iowa80.com, The Place for Chrome, to make tricking your rig out in style fast and easy. Simply: • Log on to overdrivedigital.com and click on Shopping Cart to get 24-hour, 7-day-a-week access to more than 130,000 cool things • Add must-have items to our Wish List and send hints to your friends and family • Sign up on our email list and receive details on the latest products and special sales • Most exhaust components are in stock and ready to ship If you can't find something you need here. You just aren't trying! Iowa_OVD1008.indd 1 Lisa_Kelly.indd 79 www.overdrivedigital.com 9/22/08 3:28:01 PM June 2013 | Overdrive | 79 5/28/13 10:16 PM