Removing leafs from Deaver U402

I have a U402 Stage 1 leaf spring kit on my Taco. It's netted about 1.6-1.75" of rake in the rear and is a bit on the stiff side. I called Deaver and they said removing the 5th leaf from the top should lower my height by about an inch which I think is a tad too much. They said either overload could be removed as well.

Has anyone had any experience with removing leafs from their U402 kits? I'm looking to soften up the ride a bit and lose about 1/2". The overloads are about 5/16" which may be good enough but I don't know if it will really soften up the ride quality.

I have a camper shell but other than that my bed is empty 99% of the time except for a dozen or so camping trips a year.

 

Time to experiment. Pull a leaf and see how it is. If you don't like it put it back rinse and repeat.

 

I would be adding weight to get to the desired/acceptable ride and see what that takes and perhaps that would be your best option so you don't end up in the opposite scenario when you go camping and being under sprung. Even if it was just adding sandbags. The other option would be to go soft on the springs and add air bags for when you load it up. But sandbags are cheap and easy.

 

^ This. I have the U402 state II and carry more weight than OP on a daily basis. Ride quality was always good for me but that could be due to the extra weight. Mine sat very tall at the start but settled and dropped 0.25-0.5" in the end. I'd leave all the leaves in and load up on sandbags to simulate your camping loadout and let them wear themselves in.

 

Thanks guys I'll do some playing around I just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with removing any leafs. These are a few years old and are definitely broken in now and I've had the camper shell for about a year. I agree I don't want to be under sprung when I do load up.