It is so true that panorama shooting is a technical challenge. A panorama head can help you find the most efficient photo overlap for later effective stitching of the panorama. Then there is the question of batch processing images for efficiency sake and to re-size. Unless you are careful with size, you can end up with a huge panorama file or Quick Time movie.
I have found it useful to initiate my 360 x 360 panoramas with the shade of a tree or building covering my camera, this way very little of the image is whited out by the sun and I stay cooler as well.
I use a leveling device just below the pano head to get the camera perfectly level. It MUST be perfectly level for best results. Also, there is the question of finding the nodal point for your lens so that the panorama essentially revolves around the, so called, nodal point. However, I have seen good arguments for rotating the panorama around the "entrance pupil." For my 10.5 DX lens I use a point very close to the front of the lens and have had good results. Some experimentation with objects close to the lens can help sort out the optimum spot for your lens.
I have seen homemade pano heads that work well and are inexpensive because they were made for specific camera/lens and tripod combination instead of a retail "one size fits all" combination that by the nature of its ability to fit many cameras and lenses is very expensive.