I forgot to mention that I was also running some 1.25" blocks with the old spring setup to level the truck. With the new leaf packs installed, the rear ride height measured at the fender flares was EXACTLY the same as with the old setup... pretty cool!
I made a shakedown trip to Big Sur last weekend. Fully loaded with all camping gear, fridge, firewood tub, my big Camp Chef stove setup, 2 full 20L MFC's and 5 gallons of water on the rear can rack (about 500 pounds), the rear ride height was 37".
I forgot to measure it before I loaded all the gear, so I measured it when I got back and unpacked all the camping gear. Both fuel cans were empty but there was still roughly 4 gallons in the water can. The empty ride height is 37.75". That's only 3/4" of compression... amazing!
The main point of all this was to get rid of the body roll and dead feel in the rear end and increase the load-carrying capability, and the new Deavers perform even better than I expected. The ride, both empty and loaded, is super smooth and lively. The body roll, which became more pronounced (due to changes in geometry) after I rebuilt the front end and added Camburg UCA's, is pretty much gone and my truck feels much safer. I couldn't be happier, and this upgrade was money very well spent.
Now I need to figure out the correct size shocks to run in the rear, as the travel has now been greatly increased. For now I'm still running 24" Bilsteins. Before reinstalling the lower shock mounting bolts, I let the rear end drop all the way and there was a 5" gap between the shock mount and the shock eye. I haven't checked out full compression yet, but I figure I can just measure the gap between the frame stop and the lower end of the Timbrens with the rear end at full droop and get the range. Please feel free to chime in if anyone has advice on how to choose the proper length shocks.