Winter Tires CanadaAn LT winter tire is the safer starting point for a pickup that regularly carries a load, tows, or works through the winter, while a truck that runs empty on a paved commute has more room to consider lighter fitments. That is the short answer, and the rest of this guide is the check behind it. Retail listings for truck winter tires are long on numbers and short on guidance: they print a load index, a load range and a tread depth, then leave the buyer to decide what those figures mean. Read in order, the figures do answer the question — provided the tire’s listed capacity is compared against what the truck itself specifies.
Three LT listings, read the same way
These three severe-snow winter fitments show the pattern a buyer will meet again and again. Each one is an LT size, each one carries Load Range E, and the differences sit in the load index, the listed tread depth and the stud details. The General Grabber Arctic LT also carries the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol for severe snow service, and its manufacturer directs that it be installed in sets of four only.
| Tire and size | Load index | Load range | Tread depth, as listed | Other listed figures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hankook Winter i*Pike RW11, LT235/85R16 | 120 | E | 16.5 | Speed rating Q; stud pin size #13, 6-row layout; studdable |
| General Grabber Arctic LT, LT235/80R17 fitment | 120/117 | E | — | Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake severe snow rating; sets of four only |
| Cooper Discoverer Snow Claw, LT285/75R16 | 126/123 | E | 17.0 | Stud pin size #12 (TSMI #12) |
Two lessons fall out of the table. First, Load Range E on its own does not finish the comparison: the Cooper listing carries a higher load index than the Hankook listing, in a wider size, so two tires with the same load range letter are not interchangeable by default. Second, tread depth is listed as a plain number, with no shared explanation attached to it. Treat that number as one figure among several, not as a traction score. A deeper listed figure does not excuse a load index that falls short of the truck’s requirement.
Spec verification: the five-line check
Before comparing prices, run the same check on every candidate listing, in this order. It takes the figures the seller already publishes and compares them with the figures the truck maker already publishes. Nothing in the check depends on a salesperson’s opinion.
- Confirm the size string. The letters at the front matter: the three listings above are LT sizes, written LT235/85R16, LT235/80R17 and LT285/75R16. Record the full string exactly as listed.
- Record the load index. Write down 120, 120/117 or 126/123 — whichever the listing shows — rather than rounding the tire down to “heavy duty.” A dual figure is part of the listing, not a typo to ignore.
- Record the load range. All three examples above are Load Range E. If a candidate listing shows a different range, that difference belongs in the comparison, in writing.
- Check the severe-snow marking. Look for the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol, the severe snow service rating shown on the General listing. A winter claim without that symbol is a weaker claim.
- Note the stud details, if studs matter where you drive. The Hankook listing specifies pin size #13 in a 6-row layout; the Cooper specifies pin size #12. Studdable and factory-studded are different starting points, and the pin size is part of the specification.
What success looks like: for each candidate, one written line holds the full size, the load index, the load range, the snowflake status and the stud detail — and the load figures meet or exceed the specification for the truck they will go on. A listing that cannot supply those five items has not yet earned a comparison on price.
Let the winter job rank the candidates
With the spec check done, the use case does the ranking. A truck that spends winter empty, on cleared pavement, places the least demand on load capacity, so the decision can turn more on snow performance and the figures above. A truck with a loaded bed, a working payload or a trailer behind it places the load figures first: the tire is carrying weight as well as gripping, and a shortfall on capacity is not offset by a tread pattern the driver prefers.
Plow work belongs in the same first group, for a simpler reason. The truck’s winter job has changed, so the tire decision should be revisited rather than inherited from the summer fitment. In each case the working rule is identical: name the heaviest regular winter job, check the candidate against that job, and only then compare the remaining tires on tread design and price.
One caution survives every version of this decision. Do not mix a promising load index on one axle with an unrelated fitment on the other and call the result a set. The General guidance for its Arctic LT is sets of four only, and matched fitments are the clean way to keep the truck’s winter behaviour predictable.
For Canadian truck owners, the P-metric versus LT argument usually ends once the truck’s real winter job is written down. Loaded, towing or working trucks should start from LT listings like the three above and verify the load index first. Lighter-use trucks still owe the same five-line check — it costs minutes and prevents the one error a tread pattern cannot fix.
— Owen Park, Automotive Writer