Dave Redmon – Ice Road Truckers Star: Biography, Life After the Show, and Leukemia Cancer Battle

Dave Redmon is best known as a cast member of the History Channel’s Ice Road Truckers and its spinoff IRT: Deadliest Roads. A veteran trucker with decades of long‑haul experience, he brought real‑world skill to the high‑stakes challenges of reality television. During his time on the shows, Redmon faced the perilous cliffside roads of the Himalayas in India, braved Bolivia’s infamous Death Road, and hauled loads across Alaska’s icy Dalton Highway. His clashes with veteran trainer Tony Molesky, tense on‑screen moments with Lisa Kelly, and eventual controversial firing made him one of the more talked‑about figures of the franchise. This biography explores Redmon’s background, his dramatic journey through the Ice Road Truckers series, and what happened to him after leaving the show.

Early Life and Trucking Career

Dave Redmon was born on July 26, 1965, in Valparaiso, Indiana, and later made his home in Riverside, Alabama. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in the early 1980s, where he gained some initial driving experience. However, because his military driving record could not be verified, he later attended a formal driving school at age 20. Redmon’s trucking career began shortly thereafter; in 1987 he purchased his first truck and even ran his own repair shop while building his long-haul driving credentials. Over the next two decades, he hauled freight across the United States and built a reputation for reliability and mechanical skill.

Entry into Television

Redmon’s transition from professional trucking to reality television came unexpectedly. He had been active on YouTube, where he posted videos about his trucking experiences. After uploading a particularly outspoken video criticizing a company he was leased to, producers from the History Channel contacted him. Shortly afterward, he was invited to join the cast of the new spinoff IRT: Deadliest Roads.

IRT: Deadliest Roads

Dave Redmon became part of the spinoff IRT: Deadliest Roads during its inaugural Season 1, which premiered on October 3, 2010. Initially, Alex Debogorski joined Lisa Kelly and Rick Yemm in India, but when Debogorski left early due to health concerns, Redmon made his on‑screen debut in Episode 2, Pushed to the Ledge (2010), stepping in as his replacement. Thrust into the unforgiving Himalayan routes, Redmon faced perilous cliffside tracks like the Freefall Freeway and the notorious Ledge, where one wrong move could mean a thousand‑foot drop. Episodes such as Pushed to the Ledge and Facing Fears highlighted his battles with mechanical issues, near‑misses with buses on blind corners, and the constant psychological pressure of mountain driving. His determination to adapt to these foreign conditions made him a central figure of the season. In the finale, tasked with hauling volatile jet fuel, Redmon and Rick Yemm ultimately turned back, while Lisa Kelly pressed on alone, becoming the only North American driver to complete the delivery. Redmon’s Season 1 arc demonstrated both his skill and the toll such dangerous runs could take on even experienced truckers.

In April 2011, just weeks after wrapping in Alaska, Redmon returned for Season 2, filmed in Bolivia and Peru. This season shifted from icy roads to the Andes Mountains, pitting truckers against the infamous Yungas Road—Bolivia’s Death Road—and other hazardous jungle and mountain passes. Redmon was paired at times with Lisa Kelly, alternating as driver and spotter in the team format. The season premiered on September 25, 2011, but his tenure was short‑lived. By Episode 2, Rise of the Rookies (aired October 2, 2011), he and Rick Yemm quit the production, citing unsafe equipment and disagreements with how the show was being managed. Redmon later explained that he had also become seriously ill from a parasite, which contributed to his early departure. He stressed that editing again distorted his actions, echoing his frustrations from Ice Road Truckers. His early departure from South America underscored both his insistence on safety and his disillusionment with the way reality TV framed his story.

Ice Road Truckers Career

Redmon also joined the flagship series Ice Road Truckers in Season 5 (2011), which aired from June 5 to September 25 of that year. At 45 years old and with decades of trucking experience behind him, the Alabama native entered Alaska’s Dalton Highway as one of the new recruits. The season documented his adaptation to the icy conditions, including a tense training run with veteran Tony Molesky, who famously abandoned him at Coldfoot midway through their trip. The incident underscored the strained dynamic between the two.

Despite on‑screen tension, Redmon’s performance remained solid: he hauled 27 loads, just one fewer than Lisa Kelly. However, episodes like Fire on Ice and Ice Rogue Trucker emphasized disputes with dispatch and rookie missteps rather than his safe driving record. Behind the scenes, Redmon later revealed that producers had decided early on to script his firing, originally scheduled for four weeks into filming but delayed until after seven weeks. Although the show presented his exit as a result of performance issues and personality conflicts, Redmon maintained he had not received a single ticket, accident, or load failure. In fact, he continued helping production with staged scenes even after being officially fired. He described the editing process as heavily manipulated, with repeated audio lines and spliced “wild tracks” used to create drama.

Conflicts and Relationships

Redmon’s time on the shows also brought strained relationships with fellow cast members. He stated that while Rick Yemm remained a genuine colleague, his interactions with Lisa Kelly soured over time, especially in Bolivia, where he described her as controlling. He also clashed with Carlile veteran Tony Molesky, whom he accused of enjoying company favoritism, showing up late to work, and bypassing normal chains of command.

Life After Ice Road Truckers

Away from trucking, Redmon was a motorcycle enthusiast and owned a Harley-Davidson Softail Deuce. In August 2011, he listed the bike for sale in order to cover the cost of a much-needed surgery, noting it had fewer than 75,000 miles and $2,000 worth of upgrades. On September 13, 2011, he underwent knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus and clean up arthritis. The operation lasted under an hour, and he was able to walk without major pain later the same day. These injuries, combined with a broken back sustained in India and subsequent surgeries on his back, shoulder, and knee, eventually forced him to step back from trucking.

After leaving IRT: Deadliest Roads in South America, Redmon left full-time trucking due to lasting health issues from his time on the shows, including a broken back and multiple surgeries. He focused instead on recovery and family life, while redirecting his energy into mechanical and fabrication work. In this new chapter, he transitioned his skills beyond trucking into a variety of mechanical and fabrication projects, many of which he shared on his YouTube channel. These included automotive repairs on Volkswagen Passat and Mercury Grand Marquis models, detailed rebuilds of a VW Touareg, and instructional DIY videos. He also worked on a school bus (skoolie) conversion, transforming a 1999 Blue Bird bus into an RV, while posting repair content ranging from welding demonstrations to household fixes. 

In 2014, he put his mechanical skills to work for his community by volunteering with the Riverside, Alabama, fire department. Redmon refurbished the city’s 2001 Dodge pickup—handling the paint, lights, and sirens—and in doing so saved the city an estimated $100,000 to $130,000. The project took about four months and cost only $5,000, demonstrating his ability to adapt his trucking and mechanical expertise to benefit those around him.

In November 2015, Redmon faced another major setback when he fell from an aluminum extension ladder and suffered identical breaks in both feet. Surgeons noted it was an exceptionally rare case, with the same bones in each foot breaking in the same manner. He underwent surgery with plates and screws to repair the damage. Despite severe pain and a long recovery process, he documented his experience publicly, describing the challenges of immobility, reliance on a wheelchair and walker, and the difficult process of regaining mobility. The incident marked another turning point in his personal life, further limiting his ability to return to professional trucking but underscoring his resilience in the face of repeated health challenges.

Following this accident, Redmon continued to share repair and project videos on YouTube. He documented a variety of endeavors, from rebuilding and repainting his school bus conversion to detailed automotive work on vehicles like Volkswagen Passats, Dodge Chargers, and Chevy Silverados. He also tackled projects such as Seadoo jet ski repairs, diesel injector cleaning, lawn equipment maintenance, and home utility fixes. These later uploads, often from 2016 to 2020, reflected how he remained active with mechanical work and fabrication even while recovering from major injuries, keeping his skills sharp and his connection to hands-on problem solving alive.

In October 2018, he shared another health update through both his YouTube channel and Facebook page after undergoing additional surgery that involved a pain‑block procedure on his arm and shoulder. Redmon described how he could not feel or move his arm and fingers due to the block, but emphasized that it eliminated pain during the immediate recovery.

Cancer Battle

In 2024, Dave Redmon publicly revealed that he had been diagnosed with leukemia, beginning treatment at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. On June 13, 2024, he documented the first day of his chemotherapy with a photo shared on Facebook, marking the start of a very personal health battle. By mid‑2025, he reported being more than 100 days into treatment, receiving chemotherapy three days each week.

His fight with cancer has also brought difficult lifestyle adjustments. In July 2025, he disclosed that his doctor had revoked his driving privileges after he began experiencing disorientation and getting lost too easily. Despite these challenges, Redmon has remained candid with his followers, using social media to provide real‑time updates on his progress.

Personal Life: Wife & Children

Dave Redmon married Wanda A. Redmon in 1999. Today, they make their home in Riverside, Alabama, though his early roots trace back to Valparaiso, Indiana.

Wanda Merrymon Redmon studied at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and has pursued a professional career that includes office management and work in the automotive-related sector. In 2019, Dave proudly shared that she had earned her own office after years of dedication.

Beyond his marriage, Redmon is also a stepfather. He has two stepsons, one of whom he proudly shared updates about in 2019, noting his career progress from working at Kmart as a teenager to becoming a railroad conductor. Redmon expressed pride when his stepson and his girlfriend purchased a new home, showing how important family achievements are to him.

Redmon has also shared glimpses of his personal interests and health journey online. In a March 2019 post, he revealed he had undergone 15 surgeries by that point, had one tattoo and one piercing, and enjoyed activities ranging from motorcycling and snow skiing to ice skating and water skiing. He noted his favorite food as gyros, his favorite drink as Coke, and black as his preferred color. These details, combined with his long trucking and mechanical career, paint a fuller picture of Redmon as not only a trucker and television personality but also a family‑oriented individual with diverse life experiences.

Wiki Bio Facts

Full Name	Dave C. Redmon
Date of Birth	July 26, 1965
Age (2025)	60 years old
Birthplace	Valparaiso, Indiana, USA
Current Residence	Riverside, Alabama, USA
Nationality	American
Ethnicity	White
Occupation	Trucker, Reality TV Personality, Mechanic/Fabricator
Known For	Ice Road Truckers (Season 5), IRT: Deadliest Roads (Seasons 1–2)
Years Active (TV)	2010–2011
Marital Status	Married to Wanda A. Redmon (since 1999)
Children/Stepchildren	Two stepsons
Notable Health Issues	Broken back, multiple surgeries, bilateral foot fractures (2015), leukemia diagnosis (2024)
Hobbies/Interests	Motorcycling, mechanical projects, fabrication, DIY repairs