Thanks again everyone. Yeah, I'm shopping for a capper already...
martinjmpr - very cool job on that!
I've tossed around lots of ideas and I think what I'll go with is the fibreglass capper and a simple bench to sleep on. I'm going to use 1/2" plywood, 6' long, 2 1/2' wide. Lay it on the passenger side wheelwell and a simple 2x4 frame to support the rest of it. That will be plenty wide to sleep on and will still allow me to use the other half of the bed for my big storage bins, cooler, etc.
I have 2 large aircraft grade storage bins that I want to be able to stow gear in, and they're 14" high. The top rail of the bed is 16" high, so if i build a full-width platform high enough to stow the bins underneath, I think I'll have a hard time climbing into it and closing the tailgate behind me and stuff. Plus not having enough headroom to sit up will be a pain.
With a half-width bench as a sleeping surface, I can also use it as a seat, and the bins as a table for fiddling with fishing gear, organizing my supper, whatever.
I don;t need it super fancy because i don't travel or anything, I fish a lot and the evening and morning is the best, and my fishing spot is 45 minutes away. I often stay over to fish 2 days, and that's the main reason I want to gear this up. Just so much easier than a tent.
I thought I'd need to build a platform full-width, but She Who Must Be Obeyed made it pretty clear that she wasn't sleeping in the back of a truck. Good enough...that makes my wood budget more manageable. hehe
So yeah...a chunk of plywood, a couple 2x4's, and a tent trailer mattress or something, and i'm good to go.
But, anyone who has ideas about cool stuff related to this, post up...