A couple of my stable loads are like that. They split the springs slightly when I engage them. While it makes it slightly harder to swing them in, it's still pretty easy to do with a ratchet handle. When I installed them I made the decision that squeezing them in was preferable to having them loose when engaged and empty. They really do stable things up when they're engaged with a load. Now that you have the airbags, I'd have them installed. You could air up the bags to jack up the truck rather than using a a jack.