True Course Sway Control
How CURT talks about trailer sway control — useful after you fix soft tires, not instead of airing up.
Watch on YouTube →Trailer Tire Pressure for Towing (Canada)
Soft trailer tires make sway worse. That is the parts-counter truth most first-tow weekends learn the hard way. This page is practical Canada help: check cold pressures on the trailer and the tow vehicle before you leave, why underinflation on the trailer side feeds yaw, and how that ties to tongue weight and the sway-bar decision. No invented legal PSI cutoffs — read the sidewall and the vehicle door sticker, then set cold pressures before the pavement heats the rubber.
Practical tire-pressure habits for Canada towing. Free shipping on CURT towing gear from Lots of Parts when the SKU is live on this store.
Keep these open beside this page:
first tow day checklist,
do I need a sway bar, and
tongue weight explained.
Prefer the full index?
Open the towing guides hub.
Watch these CURT videos beside the tips
CURT does not publish a single “tire pressure only” film we can embed here, so these four official CURT videos (@curtmfg) cover the sway and hitch-up context that soft tires make worse: True Course sway control, stopping sway in its tracks, ball-mount height that keeps the rig level, and a trailer-parts overview for the rest of the tongue hardware.
If an embed does not load, use the YouTube link under the card.
Stop Trailer Sway in Its Tracks
Why sway gear is a second layer — soft trailer tires still have to come up to the cold sidewall number first.
Watch on YouTube →Ball Mount and Trailer Ball
Level attitude from a correct ball mount keeps load even across tires — soft rubber plus a nose-down hitch is a bad pair.
Watch on YouTube →Trailer Parts Overview
Where couplers, chains, and other tongue hardware sit beside the tire walk-around on a first-tow morning.
Watch on YouTube →Check cold pressures before the trip
Cold means the tires have been parked long enough that they have not just rolled twenty kilometres. Morning in the driveway counts. Midday after a highway run does not — heat raises the gauge and hides an underinflated start.
Read the trailer tire sidewall for the maximum cold pressure the tire maker lists, then follow the trailer manufacturer’s placard when it gives a working pressure for that axle. Tow-vehicle pressures come from the door sticker or fuel-door placard for the truck or SUV, not from the tire sidewall max. Trailer and tow vehicle are two different books — write both numbers on a tape under the tongue jack if you hate digging for manuals at 6 a.m.
Check every trailer tire, including the spare if you carry one. A soft spare is useless the afternoon a sidewall gives up on Highway 11. Recheck after the first short hop if you aired up a trailer that sat all winter — slow leaks show up after the first heat cycle. The first tow day checklist is the print-friendly place to park this habit beside lights, chains, and the hitch pin.
Why soft trailer tires make sway worse
Underinflated trailer tires flex more at the shoulder. That flex delays the trailer's response when the tow vehicle steers or when a crosswind hits, so the trailer starts a slow yaw that the hitch then has to fight. Soft rubber also runs hotter, which is how a “fine this morning” tire becomes a blowout story by afternoon.
Sway-control hardware and weight-distribution setups help a well-aired, well-balanced rig. They are not a substitute for air. If the trailer feels nervous the moment you hit cruise, stop and check pressures before you buy another gadget. Then read do I need a sway bar for the honest decision fork — and trailer sway control when you want the deeper Canada topic page.
Tongue weight belongs in the same conversation. Too little tongue weight makes a trailer eager to fishtail even with hard tires. Too much squats the tow vehicle and unloads the trailer’s rear axle feel. Fix pressure and tongue weight before you blame the hitch class. Tongue weight explained stays the plain-English companion to this page.
Tow vehicle tires count too
Soft rear tires on the truck or SUV change how the hitch pushes and pulls. The trailer does not know the difference between a soft trailer tire and a soft tow-vehicle tire — both scramble the contact patch the chassis is counting on. Set the tow vehicle to the door-sticker cold pressures for the load you are actually carrying, including passengers and gear.
If you add a heavy ball mount, bike rack, or cargo carrier without a trailer, the rear axle still wants correct pressure. Towing just raises the stakes. After you air up, walk the hitch: pin and clip seated, coupler latched, chains crossed, lights proven — then roll. Pressure is step one of that walk-around, not a separate hobby.
Cold only
Morning gauge wins
Check before the highway heats the rubber. Hot readings hide an underinflated start.
Two placards
Trailer versus tow vehicle
Sidewall and trailer placard for the trailer. Door sticker for the truck or SUV.
Sway honesty
Air first, then gear
Soft tires feed yaw. Sway bars and WD help a correctly aired, balanced rig.
Canada shipping
Free shipping on live CURT
When CURT towing gear is live on Lots of Parts, free shipping applies the same as our other hitch pages.
| Check | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Timing | Cold tires — parked, not fresh off the highway. |
| Trailer | Every tire including the spare, to placard or sidewall guidance for that trailer. |
| Tow vehicle | Door-sticker cold pressures for the load you are carrying. |
| After winter sit | Recheck after the first short hop for slow leaks. |
| Sway feel | Air up and confirm tongue weight before adding sway gear. |
| No invented cutoffs | We do not publish a one-number PSI rule — follow the placards on your equipment. |
Step 1Find both placards
Trailer tire guidance and tow-vehicle door sticker before you touch the gauge.
Step 2Air cold
Every trailer tire and the tow vehicle, including the spare you rely on.
Step 3Confirm tongue weight
Pressure will not fix a badly loaded trailer — see tongue weight explained.
Step 4Then sway decision
If it still feels nervous, open the sway-bar decision guide.
Related guides we do publish
First tow day checklistPressure beside lights, chains, pin
Do I need a sway barDecision fork after tires are right
Tongue weight explainedLoad balance that soft tires cannot fix
Trailer sway controlDeeper Canada sway topic page
When do I need WDSquat and steering cues
Towing guides hubAll vehicle and topic guides
Open the first tow day checklist
Park cold tire checks beside lights, chains, and the hitch pin — the quiet habit that prevents most first-weekend surprises.
Open first tow checklist →Still feel yaw after airing up? Read do I need a sway bar.
Lots of Parts · Canada trailer tire pressure tips that stay practical: cold checks on trailer and tow vehicle, why soft trailer tires feed sway, links to first-tow and sway-bar and tongue-weight guides. No invented PSI cutoffs, no fake reviews.
