Howdy Y'all... Newbie asking about Burbs with Diesel engines

Allow me to introduce myself by first saying... I DO NOT own a Chevy Suburban

***waiting for moaning, hissing, and throwing of overripe tomatoes to subside***

I swear, it's NOT MY FAULT!! hehe...

Back when we bought our '95 Ford Club Wagon (15-passenger van)...

***more waiting for cries of 'kill the ford owner!'***

... I REALLY REALLY wanted a Suburban, but I was outvoted by the hubby and the sneaky sales guy who cornered him while he was at the dealership getting the truck serviced and asking what our options were on our lease agreement. We had just had baby #5 and were (temporarily... and yes, i know, probably illegally and unsafely) buckling two of our children together in one seatbelt. We needed to 'move up' to something bigger, but were locked into a lease and only by buying another Ford from that dealership (as far as we knew then) could we get out of it without being penalized. Ford did not, at that time, have an equivilent to the Suburban, so the Club Wagon seemed our best choice for a large (and possibly still growing) family.

Of course, during our almost-11-year ownership of that van, the production of the Ford Excursion came and went with us hardly noticing it's existence. Until I parked the van on it's side one day, about a month and a half ago. Myself and the 5 kids who were with me survived with no injury whatsoever, but the insurance company pronounced our beloved white box 'DOA'! (pssst... don't tell anybody, but I was kinda hoping it would just up and die on it's own, I was definitely ready for something new... but despite my husband's ridiculous claims, I doubt there is any way someone could engineer totaling a large vehicle like that while still keeping it's six passengers alive and unharmed. Well, an all-powerful, Divine Engineer, maybe! )

All of that to say... we are now in the market for a new family vehicle. The four main criteria appear to be...

1) Must carry at least 7 (if not 8 or more) people, relatively comfortably. Those long roadtrip vacations just don't cut it with kids fussing at each other constantly... but you all knew that!

2) Must be capable of pulling a travel trailer with a max weight of 7700 lbs.

3) Really should be 4 wheel drive, to accomodate driving on snowy, icy roads in the mountains... lol... on a regular basis, since we live there!

and...

4) I get sick at my stomach, just thinking of the poor souls behind us on the road, but the hubby says he wants a diesel this time around, mainly because of the trailer. And he doesn't seem to be backing down about it. (Where was MY resolve, back when I wanted the Suburban in the first place?)

So, FINALLY, here's my question...

Does anybody here know WHICH YEARS Chevy and/or GMC made the Suburbans with a diesel engine option? Preferably recent Suburban history, please... although I have decided that I do kinda fancy the 1947-1954 stylizing of the Suburban, just don't think it'll cut it in the 4x4 and towing departments!

I'm very disappointed to find out that we can't get a new vehicle, since Chevy is not offering up the '06 or the '07 with a diesel, and Ford quit making the Excursion one year too early for us! So, we are now in the process of trying to figure out what our options are. It looks like any year of the Excursion (2000-2005) or (YAY, FINALLY!!!) a used Suburban with a diesel. I've spent hours, here on the net, trying to pin down which years we should be looking at, but have had little to no luck figuring it out, so I'm hoping someone at this site can help me. I even had one Chevy dealership saiesman flat-out lie to me by telling me that the Suburban was NEVER made with a diesel engine! lol.. can you believe that?

Okay, I know I have already rambled sufficiently... and then some... so I will say bye and 'thanks in advance'... looking forward to 'hearing' your responses!!!

'D' mom of 'D' six-pack