Hey John,
       My van had the plain rear seat in it when I purchased it.  I, too,
thought about making my own bed for it, but ended up going with the fold-out
from a wrecking yard.  The problem is that even if you do level out the seat
back and rear deck, it is still too short to sleep on.  The fold-out beds do
actually pull out -- the seat raises up, pulls forward, and drops back down,
adding a fair amount to the bed length.  Then the seat back falls down to
bridge the gap.  If you can get one of these from a yard or a list member, do
it.  I got mine as part of a swap/package deal, so I don't know what they
cost.  The installation was easy, only 4 bolts through the seat frame into
the body.  Make sure to get the little posts that the seat back rests on --
they are different, longer and skinnier.  This seat makes it much easier for
me to deliver my furniture, like a big pickup truck flat-bed.  Oh, and you
can camp, too!

Bill Marshall
85 GL Tiico hotel
PHX AZ