Canadian winter traction and chains (2026)

Bunk Ledger editorsUpdated 27 Oct 2026

Print this list

This is a winter kit for US and Canadian drivers who may be told to chain up, not a map of which highway requires chains today. Provinces, states, and parks publish their own rules, and those rules change with the storm. Check the province or state road report for the highway you are on.

The photograph of chains below was taken as a general picture of chains. It is not a Canadian regulation and not a sizing chart.

Before the season

• Confirm the chain size against the tire that is actually on the truck. A size that "usually fits" is how a chain eats a brake line.
• Put the chains where you can reach them without unloading the bunk onto the shoulder.
• Practice in a yard. The pass, in the dark, is a bad classroom.
• Pack a flashlight that is not your phone, gloves you can afford to soak, and a mat or a bag to kneel on.
• Read the carrier's rule. Some fleets ban chains, some require a specific brand, and some trucks have automatic chains that are the only approved system.

On the road

• Check the provincial or state road report before you commit to the summit. Do not treat a forum post as the rule.
• If the sign says chains are required for your vehicle class, that sign beats this page.
• Carry the winter cab pieces in cold-weather cab gear: a dry layer, a scraper, and a plan for the engine heater that is not "inverter all night."
• A passenger-car traction sock, a cable sold for a light truck, and a set of chains for a different tire size are three different objects. Do not substitute one for another because the bag was cheaper.

What this kit is not

On a phone, this table moves sideways. The first column stays put.

The plow photo is a municipal truck in Buffalo, New York, not a Canadian highway rule. It is here because winter maintenance is what you are sharing the road with. Give the plow room. Do not follow it into a closed lane.

An ice-road photograph is on the cold-weather cab page. It is a picture, not a route recommendation.

If you want a chain set to compare, the search is Amazontruck tire chains. Read the tire-size chart on the listing. We have not installed a set.

A yard practice before the storm

Chains have to match the tire that is on the truck today, not the tire that was on it in October. Confirm the size against the sidewall before the season, and again if the truck gets a replacement tire. A chain that is "usually close" walks into a brake line or a flap. Practice the install in a yard, in daylight, with the gloves you will actually wear. The shoulder of a pass, in the dark, is a bad first lesson.

Pack the kit where you can reach it without unloading the bunk onto the road: chains, a flashlight that is not your phone, gloves you can soak, and something to kneel on. The glove page is a pair you can ruin. The shoe page is a closed toe with tread, because ice on the step is part of the same night. Read the carrier's rule before you buy. Some fleets ban chains, some require one brand, and some trucks have automatic chains that are the only approved system.

Provincial and state chain laws are not one list. Check the road authority for the highway you are on, that day. A passenger-car sock is not a truck chain. Do not hang one and hope the sign was written for you. The Quebec page is a reminder that the sign may be in French and still applies. Parking the night before a storm still follows the parking checks: a legal spot, a grade you can leave, the exit clear.

Skip a sizing guess from a photo, a chain thrown in the bunk loose where it can fly in a stop, and any claim about a target tire pressure. The gauge page does not print a psi. Use the pressure the tire and the fleet specify, with a gauge that can read it.

Conclusion

Traction is a size and a rule, not a gadget. The chain that fits the tire, the sign that applies to your class of truck, and the fleet policy are the three sources. This page is the reminder to read all three before the weather does it for you.