Are all terrain tires good in snow? In deep snow and slush, often yes: the open tread on a Ram 1500 Rebel or Warlock can clear itself and keep pulling where a smooth highway tread packs up. On cold pavement and ice, an all terrain tire is not a winter tire, and even one with the snowflake symbol was tested on packed snow, not on ice. If you are weighing a winter set for an off road trim, our parts department in Portage la Prairie can price one in your size, and you can book a tire installation with our service team once you have picked them.

This is the truck owner's version of the all season question, and it comes up because the trims people buy for gravel, mud and the lake road arrive on tires that look like they could handle anything. The question is what that tread does at minus 30 on a Manitoba highway, and the honest answer has three parts.

Key Takeaways

• Deep snow and slush are where an all terrain tread earns its keep. Big blocks and wide gaps can push out snow and keep biting.
• Cold pavement and ice are where it falls short. Transport Canada says all season and summer tires begin to lose elasticity below 7°C, and Canada has no government standard for winter tire performance on ice.
• The snowflake symbol is a snow test, not an ice test. According to Transport Canada, it means the tire met a traction standard on medium packed snow.
• A snowflake rated all terrain tire does not qualify for the MPI Winter Tire Program, because the program now covers only tires sold solely for winter.
• Check your own tires. The window sticker and the sidewall tell you what your truck or Jeep is wearing.

What Comes on a Rebel, a Warlock or a Rubicon

Ram Canada lists the 2026 Ram 1500 Rebel with all terrain tires on 18 inch wheels, and describes the 2026 Ram 1500 Warlock with skid plates, all terrain tires and a rear locking differential. On a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, the tire it left the factory on is listed on its window sticker.

We are not going to name a tire brand or tread line here, because the factory fitment can change by model year and by package. The two places that tell you for certain are the window sticker that came with your vehicle and the sidewall of the tire itself. On the sidewall, look for three things: the size, any M+S marking, and whether there is a mountain with three peaks and a snowflake inside it.

Deep Snow and Slush: Where an Open Tread Helps

Look at the tread on a Rebel. Large blocks, wide gaps between them, and chunky shoulders that wrap toward the sidewall. That design is built to throw out mud and gravel, and it does something useful with snow too. In unplowed snow at the end of a farmyard lane or on a fresh drift across a side road, those wide gaps can grab the snow and clear it as the tire turns, so the next block lands on something it can bite.

Slush is the other place an open tread helps. When the Trans-Canada turns to brown slush on a mild day, a tread with room to move that slush out of the way is less likely to ride up on top of it. Add four wheel drive and a locking rear differential, and a Rebel or a Warlock can get moving in conditions that would leave a two wheel drive truck on highway tires spinning.

Stopping and turning on cold, hard surfaces is a different job.

Cold Pavement and Ice: Where It Falls Short

Two things decide grip on a cold, icy road: how soft the rubber stays, and how many small edges the tread has to bite with.

On the rubber, Transport Canada puts it plainly: at temperatures below 7°C, all season and summer tires begin to lose elasticity, leading to less traction. The Tire and Rubber Association of Canada says dedicated winter tires "are manufactured with more flexible rubber compounds for superior traction even at extremely cold temperatures." If your all terrain tire is sold for year round use, its rubber was not made for that job, and it was not designed to stay soft at minus 30.

On the edges, compare the two treads. A winter tire is cut with dense zigzag slits, called sipes, across each block. Those slits open as the tire rolls and give it many small edges to grip ice and hard packed snow. An all terrain tread keeps its blocks larger and stiffer so they hold up on rock and gravel, which leaves fewer of those edges. Set a winter tire beside an all terrain tire and the difference is plain to see.

Four wheel drive does not close this gap. It helps a truck get going, but braking and steering still come down to the four patches of rubber touching the road.

What the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake Does and Does Not Promise

Some all terrain tires carry the three peak mountain snowflake symbol. Here is what that symbol means, in Transport Canada's words: winter tires "must undergo traction testing on medium packed snow, and achieve a traction index rating equal to, or greater than, 110 (i.e. 10%) when compared to a reference test tire." Transport Canada also describes the symbol as showing that a tire meets "specific snow traction performance requirements."

What the symbol does not promise is ice grip. Transport Canada says a minimum government standard for winter tire performance on ice "does not exist in Canada, the United States or European Union due to challenges with developing a repeatable test on ice surfaces." CAA-Quebec makes the same point about winter approved all season tires: their certification "is based on performance in deep snow, not on ice," and CAA-Quebec does not recommend them in Canada, especially in cold weather.

So a snowflake rated all terrain tire is a real step up in snow from one without the mark. It is still not a tire designed solely for winter, and the symbol tells you nothing about the glare ice at a rural stop sign.

The MPI Winter Tire Program and All Terrain Tires

As of October 1, 2026 the MPI Winter Tire Program covers tires marketed solely as winter tires. All weather and all season tires no longer qualify, even with the mountain snowflake mark. Manitoba Public Insurance's own wording is that approved tires "must also be designed and marketed solely for winter driving conditions, including snow and ice." An all terrain tire is built and sold for use beyond winter, so a snowflake rated all terrain tire does not qualify for the loan. A dedicated winter tire with the snowflake symbol can. We are a participating retailer in the MPI Winter Tire Program, so you can ask at our counter which winter tires in your size qualify.

Two Manitoba Winter Days to Plan Around

A gravel grid road in a January thaw and refreeze. A mild afternoon turns the snowpack on a grid road south of Portage to slush, and the trucks heading in and out of the yards cut deep ruts. That afternoon, an all terrain tread is in its element. Overnight the temperature drops back to minus 25, and by morning those ruts are frozen ridges of ice over polished gravel. Now the open blocks have little to dig into, the rubber has gone hard, and the truck wants to follow the ruts wherever they go. That morning is the case for a winter tire.

The Trans-Canada Highway at minus 30 with a loaded box. Picture the run from Portage to Winnipeg on a clear January day, with a load of feed or tools in the box. The road looks bare, but at minus 30 there can be black ice on the overpasses and polished patches where traffic stops. The extra weight in the box is weight the tires have to stop. That is the moment the rubber and the sipes are doing the work, not the size of the tread blocks.

What to Do Before the First Freeze

If you drive a Rebel, a Warlock or a Rubicon through a Manitoba winter, the practical answer for cold pavement and ice is a dedicated winter set, and Transport Canada advises mounting winter tires as a complete set of four. Our roundup of winter tires for trucks in Manitoba can help you narrow the shelf, and if you spend a lot of time on glare ice, our guide to studded winter tires in Manitoba is worth a read. Rebel and Warlock owners can start with our notes on sizing winter tires for a Ram 1500.

One way to run it: keep the all terrain tires on for spring, summer and fall, and put a winter set on for the cold months. Our service department supplies and installs new tires and does the seasonal tire changeover, so when it is time you can book your seasonal tire changeover. Bring the size from your door jamb or sidewall and ask our parts counter to quote a winter set.

FAQs

Are all terrain tires good in snow?

In deep snow and slush, they can be, because their open tread clears snow and keeps biting. On cold pavement and ice they fall short of a dedicated winter tire, which Transport Canada and the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada both tie to rubber that stays flexible in the cold.

Does the snowflake symbol make an all terrain tire a winter tire?

No. According to Transport Canada, the three peak mountain snowflake symbol means the tire met a traction test on medium packed snow. Transport Canada also says there is no government standard for winter tire performance on ice.

Do snowflake rated all terrain tires qualify for the MPI Winter Tire Program?

No. Since October 1, 2026, Manitoba Public Insurance requires approved tires to be designed and marketed solely for winter driving conditions, including snow and ice, and an all terrain tire is sold for use beyond winter.

Should I put winter tires on my Ram 1500 Rebel or Warlock?

Yes, if you drive on cold pavement, packed snow or ice through the winter. Ram Canada lists both trims with all terrain tires, which are built for use beyond winter, so a dedicated winter set gives you softer rubber and more biting edges when the temperature drops.

How do I know which tires my truck or Jeep came with?

Check the window sticker and the tire sidewall. The sidewall shows the size, any M+S marking and whether the tire carries the three peak mountain snowflake symbol.

The Bottom Line

All terrain tires are good at the deep snow and slush part of a Manitoba winter and short on the cold pavement and ice part, snowflake or not. If your Rebel, Warlock or Rubicon is heading into its first winter on its factory tires, read the sidewall, then decide whether you want a winter set before the grid roads freeze.

Bring your size to our parts department for a winter set quote, and book the install before the first real cold snap.

Tyler Dunn, Dunn Ram Trucks, Portage la Prairie