‘Gold Rush’ Fans Question The Amount Of Equipment Breakdowns

Tony Beets on Gold Rush - YouTube

One thing that Gold Rush fans have complained about for years is the constant breakdown of equipment and machines on the show. This season has gotten just as bad as Tony Beets – despite his incredible success – has emergency repairs popping up on almost every episode. For someone like Fred Lewis, who struggles constantly, it is even worse.

Fans are now wondering if there are really this many equipment breakdowns in a season. Some even ask if they even do routine maintenance at all.

Gold Rush fans question constant breakdowns

Fans love to talk about Gold Rush on Reddit. Whether it is respect for Tony and Parker, complaints about Fred, or questions about Rick, there is always something to discuss. After the last episode, fans started wondering about the constant breakdown of equipment for Tony Beets’ crew. With Tony as the most successful of the Gold Rush miners, the Redditors wondered why his equipment broke down constantly.

Tony Beets on Gold Rush - YouTube

The OP admitted that he knows that the show plays up the problems to make it more entertaining. However, how many times Beets has equipment breakdown seems rather high. “I’ve come to the conclusion they just don’t do any routine or preventive maintenance,” the OP wrote. “An operation as big and old shouldn’t be having so many surprises for wear items.”

This led to a discussion about what might go on behind the scenes of the show that fans at home don’t see on TV. One commenter said that when a drone shot sets up a scene with Beets’ crew, there is a lot more there than what they show on TV. “An operation of that size is always doing maintenance. Always,” they wrote.

Another mentioned that there is only so much that a crew this size can do in preventative maintenance. They also mentioned that “the Beets tend to run older equipment that will have more failures than newer equipment.”

How much of Gold Rush is just for TV?

With that said, there is a lot more scripted on Gold Rush than some fans might want. This is about an entire season of gold mining. The cameras are not running 100% of the time. There are even cases where they would reenact scenes if they were not there when certain events happen.

Tony Beets equipment on Gold Rush - YouTube

They also will shoot random reaction shots after the fact. This is why Fred Lewis will wear one shirt when a scene starts and a different one when he is off to the side thinking about it.

With that said, there will be breakdowns on a crew of this size. Even if every piece of equipment had routine maintenance done on it regularly, there will be breakdowns. The show wants to keep the suspense levels high, so it will show these breakdowns more often than on days when nothing goes wrong.

Do you think there are too many unrealistic struggles on Gold Rush? Does it hurt your enjoyment of the show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Shawn Lealos
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