sunder,
you should get some deaver leafs, bilsteins, and hydraulic bumpstops for the dunes. of course it's not cost effective but you could hang with the long travel crowd airing it out. i'm sure you're not gonna build a s.c.o.r.e. racer but i've seen the bumpstops in action (leaf sprung pro arena trucks up north). when you land, you stick.(not bounce) if you can swing it, they will provide you many comfortable landings. also, if you end up running rear leafs, a traction bar hung from a shackle is very helpful. it cured my wheelhop problem that i would get at the top of a bowl. no more backing down to save the r&p. plus the paddle to sand traction to climb with authority. not making the hill because i had a 70 mph run at it.