.....
This load was 600# over the rated GVWR... the heaviest part of the load was forward of the rear axel... I drove it 650miles... I didn't break my truck frame in half. It's all about proper weight distribution. I had no problem rolling this load on this truck... yes, she was HEAVY, and it took a while to bring her to heal when it came time to stop. I knew the truck would handle it because the load was balanced pretty well, and although the truck is a 1500 std duty, the axles, frame, etc are the same on the 1500HD... the HD gets heavier front springs, bigger front brakes and a transmission cooler... without that additional equipment, sensible operation is key. Don't drive too fast, leave plenty of defensible space and braking distance.... not unlike pulling a trailer. It's certainly not the first overloaded truck to roll down the highway. I'm pretty sure that, although unpublished due to corporate liabilities, I was still within the margin of safety factor that GM derated the truck to reach its rated safe load.
Would I make it a habit? No, of course not... but the truck is in good mechanical order, and I don't operate with reckless abandon.
Re: your pic of a broken truck... I call BS on that pic. it is unlikely that the 1T dually pictured would be bothered by that camper even if every bit of gear in the thing was loaded behind the axel... if that was the case, that truck would have severe handling issues due to a lightly loaded steer axle requiring a redistribution of weight long before it got down the road very far. I suspect photoshop is more to blame there.
But of course, YMMV.
D