I would like to know what everybody thinks of an idea I've been mulling over for softening the ride of my 4x4 truck. It's a Toyota with a solid front axle with leaf springs. I figure the tech should also be applicable to the rear ends of Mopars so don't shoot me!

Here's the idea: Initially, I was thinking of just removing the bottom leaf to lower the overall spring rate and soften things up but I know this would also lower the truck, which I don't really want. So then I thought, what if I removed half of the leaves, leaving two in to keep the axle positively located, and then replaced the shocks with some light coilover assemblies? If the proper parts were used, it seems like this could maintain the stock ride height while reducing the spring rate. What say y'all?