Do airbags increase tongue weight? This is one of the more frequently asked questions by new vehicle drivers.

Let’s look at it precisely.

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Do Airbags Increase Tongue Weight?

The simple answer is, no! It’s important to remember that the addition of any airbag system does not allow higher payloads or towing capacity to your current vehicle. You have to take into account that other systems on your truck—including braking and cooling—are rated for specific manufacturer-rated capacity.

Is It OK To Use Airbags With Weight Distribution Hitch?

Yes, you can use airbags with a weight distribution hitch. In fact, many people do it to fine-tune their tow rig’s attitude. However, you need to make sure that the airbags are not inflated too much, so that your tow rig’s rear axle does not lift off the ground (i.e., the rear springs are completely compressed).

Airbag manufacturers recommend that you leave enough space for the airbag to still flex when fully inflated. For example, SuperSprings recommends a minimum of 1-2 coils of spring showing in front of and behind the airbag.

The above is only applicable if the tow rig is level or slightly nose down (i.e., trailer tongue weight is greater than 10% of trailer gross weight). If the tow rig is nose up (i.e., trailer tongue weight is less than 10% of trailer gross weight), then you should not use an air bag at all as it will put additional pressure on the tow rig’s rear axle and rear tires, potentially causing them to fail from overloading.

Does Tongue Weight Affect Payload?

The short answer is yes, tongue weight does affect payload. The long answer is that the amount of tongue weight varies depending on what you’re towing and how you’ve packed your vehicle.

In general, however, you want to keep as much tongue weight as possible. This gives your trailer more stability on the road, especially when it comes to a quick stop or sharp turn.

The maximum amount of tongue weight your vehicle can handle should be listed in its owner’s manual. You can also find out by subtracting the curb weight from the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR).

The GVWR is found on the driver’s side door jamb or in the owner’s manual, while the curb weight is available online and should be listed under specs.

Here’s an example: Let’s say you have a truck that weighs 4,000 pounds and has a GVWR of 6,000 pounds. In this case, you would have 2,000 pounds of payload capacity to work with.

If you have 400 pounds of tongue weight on your trailer hitch (which isn’t out of the ordinary), that means you’d only have 1,600 pounds left for everything else in your truck — people, cargo and anything else inside the vehicle or in its bed.

How Much Weight Can Airbags Hold?

Words from a vehicle owner:

I’m not sure what kind of “weight” you’re asking about.

Airbags are designed to soften the impact when a vehicle hits something (or something hits it). They do that by inflating quickly and then deflating very rapidly, so they can absorb the force of objects hitting them much like a water bed absorbs the movement of someone dancing on it.

Airbags can hold a lot of weight in a general sense, because they inflate to cushion an object only when they are needed (and there’s an impact). So, if you were to place a ton or two of something on top of an airbag, it would simply sit there until it was pressed down hard enough to trigger the inflator device. Once that happened, it would be cushioned just like any other object.

I should point out that airbags aren’t meant to be used as load-bearing devices. Of course, if you weigh 200 pounds and you hit an airbag while riding in a car, it will hold your weight momentarily. But if you’re wondering whether you could use one as a hammock or something similar, I really wouldn’t recommend it. It would probably tear pretty quickly.

What Do Airbags Do For Towing?

Airbags help in towing because they add support for the load, preventing it from shifting rearwards and dropping the backside of your truck.

The concept behind airbags is simple. Airbags are inflatable fabric bags that sit between the leaf spring and axle of your vehicle. They add support for the load, preventing it from shifting rearwards and dropping the backside of your truck.

The benefits of using airbags are two-fold. First, they improve handling because they prevent the back end of your vehicle from sagging as a result of the trailer’s tongue weight. This comes in handy when carrying heavy loads, such as when towing a large fifth wheel or gooseneck trailer.

Second, airbags help carry some of the weight off of your axle and transfer it to your vehicle’s frame. This can be especially beneficial for overloaded trucks or those with after-market lift kits or larger tires, which place extra stress on the suspension system.

Will Airlift 1000 Bags Increase Allowable Tongue Weight?

First, you can’t just add air to the stock airbags. To get the full benefits of the Airlift 1000 kit, you need to remove the stock bags and replace them with the Airlift 1000s.

The stock airbags provide only a nominal amount of support. Their primary purpose is to maintain ride height when driving unloaded or with a light load. The stock bags are designed to prevent bottoming out on large road irregularities but not to really provide any meaningful level of support.

How Much Does A WDH Reduce Tongue Weight?

There are a couple of ways to calculate how much your tongue weight will change when you use a WDH. One way is to look at the specs for the hitch you’re using and see what the manufacturer says about it.

Another way is to do some math. If you know your trailer’s unloaded weight, and you know that 10% to 15% of that should be tongue weight, you can figure out how much weight is on your tongue. Then you can subtract that from the new, loaded tongue weight and see how much more it weighs with the WDH installed.

Say, for example, that you have a travel trailer that weighs 5,000 pounds when it’s unloaded (without any water in its tanks). That means your tongue should weigh between 500 and 750 pounds when it’s empty. When it’s loaded up and ready to go, though, your tongue might weigh 1,000 pounds. That would mean that 250 pounds of the loading shifted forward onto your tow vehicle when you used the WDH.