transmission for front wheel drives are not durable and are not designed to handle the potential stress of a 1000+ pound load that a pickup truck could amass. Also, front wheel drive transmissions do NOT like to tow anything.
A rear drive transmission gives the strength and stability if you have a heavy load.
FWD's also chew up tires faster, and don't produce the torque needed to pull a tree stump out for instance. Handling wise.. it's really up to the tires.