Your first picture shows how the small length springs will help to support the top springs?
I'm not sure that would even work since only the end of the long leaf would contact the main springs, and push them away from the shorter length helper springs. Only if they also contact the main spring leaf would they contribute to carrying the load. Only if the long helper leaf contacts the frame would the shorter leaves help carry the load as that contact would mash the leaves together instead of separate them.
It seems like Larry's first picture would require quite a bit of suspension compression for those overloads to contact the frame. Possibly they've been bent down by too much overloading. I looked for pictures on the Vehicle Info Kits, but came up short. They only show helper springs on 1-1/2 ton trucks, with long leaves above the shorter leaves.
The only way Larry's "smile" mounting would really work is if the helper was taken apart and reassembled with the leaves in reversed order, with the long leaf on top of the shorter ones.
Maybe someone has a known survivor and can weigh in on the helper spring arrangement.
