How do airbags help a tow vehicle?

BenK is a pretty smart guy, he's right again on the spring comment.
As to leveling a truck not shifting weight and resulting in a loose front end,...........you might want to visit a scale. Putting front end geometry back where it belongs is never a bad thing.

Adjusting headlights for a given load isn't difficult.

Airbags don't transfer any weight; people often have the misconception they do because it looks like they do since the tail isn't dragging anymore. Just because you forced the rear axle back in place doesn't change where the weight is.

Weight distributing hitches are what actually transfer weight forward and if you're towing a trailer, that should be your first step. If you're still sagging too much for your liking, then get airbags.

Miles away, but your justification goes against the GRWO (geezer rvnet world order).
Any time springs sag to the point of being noticeable to the naked eye, one must immediately cease and decist and proceed directly to the next largest truck.
Preferably a reg cab, 2wd f350 dually gasser with 5.89 gears to maximize payload and make up for lost towing capacity by the gasser engine that is not only saving available payload but actually spits monetary refunds out the tailpipe unlike heavy onerous noisy expensive worthless diesels....

Sounds good in therory Ben. Never seen that phenomenon though.

If you have ever driven at night on a dark unlight highway with a heavy load on the back of your truck and wondered why the roads were so dark because your headlights were pointing up in the air and not on the road, you would understand about the value of airbags.

Air bags, or any auxiliary springs in PARALLEL will change the spring rate curve
and travel curve. In series, the lower rated will do the work until it compresses
to match the lowest rating of the bigger spring

In parallel and aired up a small bit...it will take some load off of the leaf
springs.

Then both of these springs will be in a lower rate (poundage) portion of their
respective curves

Meaning they will ride a bit softer until they compress into a higher rate portion
of their curve

Grit dog wrote:
I agree with bags helping a lot of situations, have em on my truck too,but how exactly do they make a stiff as a board empty truck ride better when all they do is stiffen the suspension more?
Sounds akin to guys that get 24mpg in their diesel duallys......

I don't know how or why they made the ride better, I can say they helped the ride feel better. I would have 10-15psi in the bags. Could be acting like a shock on each leaf spring or taking the bumps out by isolating the differential/axles and the body frame...might be the road texture or our imagination too.

On an empty truck, they do little to nothing good. It is possible to remove some of the metal spring leafs to soften the ride on the empty truck, then use the airbags to support the load. On a loaded truck they level the truck, reduce the bounce off the overloads, and help with the front to rear rocking from a trailer.
They do not increase load capacity of anything, all they will do is allow you to drive level while overloaded.
I have R4tech of my 07 dually and 08 2500, they both ride better then my 16 dually, and almost as well as my Yukon.
The only time I have ever had an airbag fail was installer error - the airbag was to close to the u-bolt, and rubbed a hole in it.
If you suffer from "pogo stick effect" you need a ping tank, 0.5 to 1 gallon tank plumbed into each airbag with large diameter line. This supports the exact same weight, and dampens the pressure spikes on bumps.

1971duster340 wrote:
I added Air-Lifts to my '05 3500 SRW to help with road humping while pulling a TT. They really helped with bounce and leveling a tongue wt. of 1300#. There was a better ride without the TT too.

I agree with bags helping a lot of situations, have em on my truck too,but how exactly do they make a stiff as a board empty truck ride better when all they do is stiffen the suspension more?
Sounds akin to guys that get 24mpg in their diesel duallys......