“After 8 Years in the Cold, Todd Dewey Returns to the Ice Roads — But What He Faces This Season Will Push Him Beyond His Limits ❄️🚛”

After eight long years of silence, the roar of diesel engines and the haunting crack of frozen lakes are returning to television screens.

On October 1, 2025, Ice Road Truckers makes its long-awaited return for Season 12 on the History Channel.

This time, the stakes are higher, the ice thinner, and the faces both familiar and battle-worn.

Among them is veteran driver Todd Dewey, who, alongside Lisa Kelly, takes on the brutal northern Canadian wilderness once more—this time hauling for Muskie Creek Trucking.

Ice Road Truckers': Todd Dewey on Show's Return After 8 Years & What's  Different

For Dewey, the break wasn’t a retirement—it was a pause.

The 49-year-old trucker from Port Angeles, Washington, had spent the last eight years raising his four daughters, watching two of them become mothers themselves, and learning to enjoy the quieter moments of home life.

But as the years passed, the call of the ice never faded.

“Ice roads get in your blood,” he admitted with a grin.

“Every winter, my wife would catch me watching videos or checking who was hauling up north.

She’d say, ‘You’re doing it again, aren’t you?’ And I’d laugh and say, ‘Just looking.

’ But deep down, I missed it.”

When Ice Road Truckers first ended in 2017, Dewey saw it as a blessing in disguise.

His daughters were graduating, life at home needed his attention, and after years of facing -40° temperatures, collapsing ice, and isolation, a rest was long overdue.

“That break came at the right time,” he reflected.

“My kids needed me home, and honestly, I needed to catch my breath.

But even when you’re home, a part of you is still out there on those roads.”

Now, eight years later, he’s back behind the wheel—and the decision didn’t come lightly.

 

Ice Road Truckers': Todd Dewey on Show's Return After 8 Years & What's  Different

 

“It was a big family discussion,” Dewey revealed.

“My two oldest girls had just given me grandbabies.

My wife and I were finally empty nesters after 25 years.

But when that call came, I couldn’t say no.

My wife asked, ‘Are you sure you want to do this again? You know what happens up there.

’ And I just looked at her and said, ‘I have to.It’s who I am.”

Returning to the ice roads after such a long break was no easy feat.

Dewey admitted that age and doubt crept in.

“I won’t lie, I was nervous,” he confessed.

“My hair’s gray now, and I’ve got more miles on my body than I used to.

I remember sitting in the truck on day one thinking, ‘Do I still have it in me?’ It’s one of those jobs where hesitation can kill you.

The ice doesn’t forgive mistakes.”

Joining Muskie Creek Trucking meant stepping into unfamiliar territory.

“You never know what you’re walking into,” he said.

“New bosses, new drivers, new routes—it’s like starting over.

And up there, starting over means proving yourself all over again.

” Still, he found the team solid, the equipment dependable, and the challenges relentless.

“The loads were insane—oversized, high-risk runs that most people would turn down.

But that’s the kind of work I live for.

The more dangerous it is, the more rewarding it feels when you get it done.”

The 2025 season promises to be one of the toughest yet, and Dewey doesn’t sugarcoat it.

“This year was wild,” he said, shaking his head.

“We had days hitting -40, sometimes -60 with wind chill.

We lost loads, had trailers flip, and the ice was cracking in ways I’ve never seen before.

 

Nearly 10 Years After His 'Ice Road Truckers' Exit, Star Todd Dewey Reveals  the Surprising Reason He Left the Show

 

There were moments I honestly thought, ‘There’s no way this is happening.

But that’s the ice road for you.

It tests you in every way possible—your strength, your patience, your sanity.”

But for all its danger, there’s a raw beauty and purpose to the work that keeps Dewey coming back.

“When you finally reach those isolated communities after battling snowstorms, broken axles, and thin ice, and you see the people waiting for you—it hits you hard,” he said.

“They rely on those supplies.

For them, that truck showing up means heat, food, medicine—it’s survival.

I’ve had kids run out and hug me like it’s Christmas morning.

You can’t put that feeling into words.”

He laughed remembering one particularly close call early in filming.

“We were crossing a section of lake that was supposed to be solid, but I could hear the ice groaning underneath.

Every instinct in me said, ‘Don’t stop, just go.

’ I looked in my mirror and saw the cracks spiderwebbing behind my trailer.

When I finally got across, I just sat there, heart pounding, thinking, ‘Yeah, I still got it.

’ Then I radioed the crew and said, ‘You might want to take a different route.”

For fans, Dewey’s return symbolizes more than nostalgia—it’s resilience.

The ice roads are a brutal equalizer; they don’t care about fame or TV cameras.

And Dewey knows that all too well.

“When you’re out there, it’s not about television or entertainment.

It’s about survival.

You’re fighting the cold, the elements, and sometimes even yourself.

You start cussing, kicking the truck, asking yourself why you came back—and then you see that load delivered, and all of it makes sense again.”

When asked what makes this season different from those before, Dewey’s eyes lit up.

“This one’s got heart,” he said.

“We’re older, wiser, and maybe a little more broken down—but we’ve still got fire.

The roads are worse, the weather’s harsher, and the stakes are higher.

You’ll see real moments—fear, pride, exhaustion, and relief—all of it.

This isn’t just another season; it’s a comeback story for all of us.”

As Ice Road Truckers returns to the History Channel on October 1, fans will see more than trucks on ice.

They’ll witness a group of people who live on the edge of the impossible, pushing their limits for the sake of others.

For Dewey, it’s personal.

“This isn’t just a job—it’s a calling,” he said quietly.

“You fight every mile, every frozen breath, because out there, every delivery counts.”

And as he climbed back into his rig for another run, the frost biting at his face and the sound of cracking ice echoing beneath his wheels, Todd Dewey couldn’t help but smile.

“Eight years away,” he murmured, gripping the wheel.

“Feels like I never left.”