Lisa Kelly is one of Ice Road Truckers' only female drivers. Appearing between seasons 3 and 11, she has been on the show since 2009. Notably, throughout season 6, she was absent. The constant coverage of their everyday life and work overwhelmed the trucker. This brief break allowed the star to find the ground again before returning in the following season.
Ice Road Truckers shows the struggles that long-distance truckers go through as they cross the perilous frozen lakes and passes in North America. On occasion, the stakes get incredibly high, with trucks opening up cracks in the ice or heading over the edge of the road and down a cliff.
Using a fly-on-the-wall setup, the producers piece together a view into the lonely life of these workers. The show's final season aired in 2017, and since then, all the truckers, including Kelly, featured have disappeared into some obscurity.
Kelly has now become a prominent star in the trucking community. But ever since the exit from Ice Road Truckers show, she has gone under the radar. But, in 2023, Lisa Kelly is still living the wild truck life to the fullest, minus the TV fame.
Updated February 2023: Lisa Kelly is a woman who loves the long-hauling truck life. And she has embraced that with passion, both on and off the screens. We have updated this article with more details on what Kelly is up to today, away from the fame that she embraced during her 'Ice Road Truckers' days.
What Is 'Ice Road Truckers' Lisa Kelly Doing Now?
When driving for the show, Kelly was a part of Carlisle and operated primarily in Alaska. Speaking with Overdrive in May 2021, Kelly revealed that she now works for another logistics supplier but still drowns North from the Alaskan City Kenai to Prudhoe Bay. This journey is a 1,500-mile and 32-hour long trip, providing that there are no delays. Ice Truckers do these drives on their own. Usually, with large semis, the drivers will stop and sleep in the cabins of their trucks on these work trips.
The truckers provide a vital service to the massive oil and gas industries that support the Alaskan economy. Unlike many reality TV shows, the cast didn't have a grand falling out. The large distance between the truckers probably enabled this a little more. Kelly claims to talk to Todd Dewey a logger. As well as running into Jack Jesse and Phil Kromm when working the road. The latter two both still work for Carlisle.
Kelly remarked that the snow was staying longer than usual. In Alaska, driving the ice roads is all but impossible over the winter. These long winters running into April are impacting how much work Kelly can take. However, the trucker thinks “they're constantly making improvements" to the conditions of the road. Some sections now have tarmac and paving, meaning that these roads are mildly less dangerous than before.
Kelly mentions that in spring, these roads get harder to drive on with a "bumpy" nature. Kelly's social media presence is quite modest. She does have an Instagram account with a modest 18,700 followers. And she has recently become quite active on YouTube, with videos being uploaded almost every week. The videos are mostly portrayed as blogs that she records while on the roads.
What Truck Does Lisa Kelly Drive Now?
Kelly currently drives a Freightliner Coronado, saying that she's good at “blowing them up.” The manufacturer has renamed the Coronado the 122SD, meaning Severe Duty such as Ice Roads. The truck shares the same engine as the Cascadia, but with less bodywork to scrape on uneven terrain, it is ready for the harshest environments. It's unknown what engine is in Kelly's truck. The 112SD has engine options up to a 600-horsepower and 2,050 lb-ft of torque.
In the show, Kelly drove a range of different trucks but is frequently pictured driving Kenworths. Kenworth trucks like the W900 are some of the most popular Class 8 trucks for those driving the ice roads. As a result, the vehicles took starring roles in the Liam Neeson Netflix movie, The Ice Road. In the film, the actor drives a red one.
Will Lisa Kelly Return To The Screen?
Kelly is open to making a return to the media. She describes the show as being on a hiatus instead of canceled, but it's likely the pandemic scuppered any hopes for a return. Although had the show continued, a series covering the pandemic would surely have been fascinating. The global supply chain has nearly fallen apart, and jobs have seemed insecure in all sectors. A season covering the ups and downs of this, along with the jeopardy of the ice, would have been rated highly among fans. Nevertheless, Kelly is now pretty active on Facebook.
Over her career, the trucker has been featured on the cover of Overdrive magazine, as well as having done glamour photoshoots. In her free time, she rides horses and seeks thrills on motorcycles. A keen mechanic, she proudly knows exactly what's wrong with her bike.
The trucker is in a transitional part of their life. With ice road truckers ending a few years ago, she doesn't know if there will be more shows or not. To plan her next move, she is simplifying her life and even going so far as adopting a minimalist lifestyle.
For many, this philosophy is a major overhaul to their life. However, in a truck, there is very little space for the comforts of life. So perhaps this move is Kelly trying to bring her work home. Married since 2008, Lisa Kelly keeps a low profile about her private life.
Sources: Lisa Kelly Via YouTube, Ice Road Truckers History Channel