Dynamic incremental weight - springs and rake

Hoping you guys can help me out on this. I have currently intentionally chosen not to go with heavy rear springs. The reason being I don't have permanent weight in rear that warrants them. If I add more permanent weight like rear bumper I know heavy springs will be needed with it. The reason I have done this is trying to keep the ride good when unloaded in daily driver mode.

I have Elka's with 2.5" of lift, medium springs and durobumps. I love the setup it rides great for what I do. Long road trips to get to trails. No high speed desert racing or anything like that. When fully loaded down for trips I am compressing springs and shocks but not bottoming out or noticing any poor ride. I adjust the shocks as needed on/off road or adding/removing weight. Happy with the ride in all scenarios. Am I doing anything wrong or is really better to not rely on some rake to handle incremental weight added.

I know many people want to level and not have some positive rake for looks. My initial thought process this is how the stock suspension handles extra weight and I am doing similar with some lift. Hoping you guys who know more than me can shed some light. For reference 2 picks unloaded and loaded.

 

Get some Firestone airbags, then inflate when needed.

 

Yes I have thought of airbags. Am I hurting anything doing what I am doing now? Other than Elka's may need a rebuild early? The Elka's are more shock than I need but don't want to abuse them.

Airbags would definitely solve right now but I anticipate heavier springs will be in the future with a bumper. Just when is the question. In the interim before doing heavy springs I don't want to be making a bad decision causing problems.

 

If the current setup works for everything you're doing, don't go looking for problems.

 

What are the downsides to airbags for occasional heavy loads in back? I read the Firestone installation procedure and I don't like the idea of cutting the bump stops, so I'd probably get a second pair of those to keep in original condition.

 

I have never really done a deep dive on them because have not looked seriously going that route. I think they can leak over time.

Maybe we will get lucky some users that have them. Not super common from what I have seen but have been around a long time.

 

When you load stuff in the rear of a vehicle it's SUPPOSED to sag [assuming it's not overloaded] if it doesn't, the ride is going to be shit and you won't have any flex or compliance for off road.
I don't understand the obsession some have with "it must be level no matter what"
From your pics it looks like a good setup.