The long shaft?

[SunSoaked]

Got the old bed of project chaos this weekend. Couple of things of interest:

1) I am assuming the PO added "overload" springs at some point. They look like addition leaf springs mounted on top of the leafs but dont have spring "eyes" on the ends. They are only connected buy the U-bolt. The ends appear to contact the bottom of the bed when the "normal" springs are fully compressed. Is this correct?

2) There are two separate driveshafts between the transfer case and rear diff, supported by a bearing in the middle. I'm thinking that when I add some lift (4"-6") AND add a ranger splitter (moving the t-case rearwards another 12inches), the pinion angle on the rear shaft is gonna be really high.

Why not just run a single large tube from the t-case to the diff? I see large diameter (4 in) shafts on lifted late model trucks all the time. I'm pretty sure they are one piece?