BTDT, whatever you get, it had better have a flame paint job!! 
Excursion also available with a diesel engine. Earlier ones had the 7.3, there are nice used ones out there, but they are hard to find.
Crotchety, you’re talking to the person that painted the truck and trailer with a paintbrush. I did my own grinding down and repairing of the rust spots on the trailer (as the neighbors watched in amusement) and have some of my custom artwork on it. It’s not flames, but pictures of my now gone dressage horses, and an outline of my Appy doing half pass and pirouette on the back doors. 
Sigh. Still thinking. Should I wait until this explodes and fix what I can? Should I junk it and get something with a comfortable seat and a radio?
BTDT, it sounds like the diesel Excursion/Suburban is the way to go (to me at least, HUGE diesel fan here) If I were you, I would start looking for a used one with the expectation that it may take a while to find, and keep ‘Old Faithful’ road worthy until then.
After the most minimal google search ever, it looks like the Excursion was made in a diesel until 2005, and the Suburban until the late '90’s.
[QUOTE=CrotchetyDQ;8137256]
BTW, Guilherme’s post is the best summary of COTH trailer wisdom I have ever seen. [/QUOTE]
Guilherme’s post should be given Sticky status.
