They are as comfortable as they are rugged, and they are engineered to last more years than most original owners will hang onto them. Trucks were always built off-road tough but in standard configuration provide no place to store personal gear without exposing it to the elements and thieves.
Trucks are for hauling equipment, as a friend put it, whereas SUVs are for carrying gear.
The old cargo vans so popular through the '70s and '80s would hold every piece of outdoor gear a hunter or fisherman owned, but they tended to loosen up and rattle like a pair of maracas as soon as they left the asphalt. Today's SUV combines the best features of the pickup and old-model van. SUVs complement the new lines of well-appointed pickups, and automakers have provided outdoors enthusiasts with an entire fleet of these specialty vehicles from which to choose. Sport-utes come in a variety of sizes and attitudes, not all of which are suitable for serious outdoor activity. At least when you buy a pickup truck, gussied up or plain vanilla, you can expect some degree of ruggedness.