Hello All! New Excursion owner here. Bought it to pull a 6000 lbs dry camper we have. Had an Expedition that pulled it fine but we have four kids who like to spread out on long journeys and I wanted the extra cargo space. I bought a 2000 2WD V10 Limited. And yes I bought it on purpose. I wanted something I could pay cash for and was in decent shape. All the nice looking diesels I found were in the upper teens. I found a one owner with only 140k. Engine runs very smooth and has no leaks. Interior is in great shape minus some expected wear on the drivers seat. I’m getting 13 mpg without pulling and 10 pulling. My question is this. There is a bit of sag in the rear and from what I hear is to be expected. I don’t think my camper is so heavy that I need airbags but maybe. I was going to get new front and rear Bilstien HD shocks for it. Would that pretty much solve my sag issue or would I need to get new leaf springs too?

Welcome to the EX forum and family!
New shocks are great if you need new shocks but they won't increase your ride height loaded or empty, the springs carry the weight and the shocks dampen the suspension movement.
Airbags are a great way to resolve a loaded rear squat situation, just be sure to get a set that is specifically designed for the 2WD EX as their setup differs from the 4X4s where the bags attach.
Dry camper weights are pretty much a fantasy number that the manufactures pick out of thin air with no relation to reality. Have you ran your Ex and TT onto a scale yet? That's the best way to know for sure not only what everything weighs but to ensure that your WD hitch is setup properly. A 3 pad CAT scale at a truck stop is just about the best way to scale the combo as it will show the steer, drive and trailer axle weights separately all on one ticket, and they are cheap at $12 for the initial weight and $2 for each additional weigh in. Typically you will want to weigh it 3 times, once with the EX and TT fully loaded as you would be for travel with the WD hitch tensioned as you typically have it, second still hitched but with all of the tension released from the hitch bars and finally just the EX by itself. From the 3 scale tickets you can calculate your exact tongue weight, trailer weight, EX weight and how well your WD hitch is reloading any lost weight to the front axle.
How does it tow currently? Any issues or sway?
You joked about buying an RWD V-10 above, if I had to start over that is probably what I would try to find to be my dedicated tow rig.

As usual, I got off track above when I started talking about the TT and towing, one of my favorite topics!
About new springs, a rear wheel drive EX presents some issues with replacement springs and small lifts as the options for the front are far more limited than for the 4X4 rigs. So new, taller rear springs will result in lots of rake with the stock front springs, and lifting the front to get back to a factory like rake will require a bit of research into what may be available in the 2"-ish lift range. If you are happy with the current ride and handling then I would seriously look at just getting a set of airbags for the rear to handle the additional trailer tongue weight to level it out when hitched.
Airbags will most likely be the next mod to my tow rig EX to correct the rear squat from out very tongue heavy TT.

Incredible detail my friend. No I have not weighed it all but that’s a great idea of course. I’m not to far from a weigh station. I figured springs were the issue but the local ford dealer service guy said I’d fix the rear sag with new HD shocks. As far as towing goes, I freaking love it! Smooth ride and no sway. I’ve towed our camper with the following. 1500 Suburban. Great if you were only going an hour away. Any further than that on a hot summer day and the trans would over heat. Suburban 2500. Great but it was a 99 454 and I got tired of plugging leaks. Expedition. That 5.3 was great with that 6 speed trans but the camper really influenced the movement of that Expy. It had over 200k and the trans was going so I got this Excursion. Camper does not influence the rig hardly at all. My only regret was settling for the 3:73 rear end. I kinda wish I had looked harder for 4:10 or 4:30. She’s all muddy still from a trip to North Ga Mountains this past weekend. I’ll post pics after I wash her up.

But yes. I think you’re right. She rides well enough so I think airbags would be the way to go. But yes I need to get my WD set up straight first. To be honest I kinda guessed it but noticed during the trip that there wasn’t much tension on my WD bar chains.

That is frightening, and sad.

Hey Logan. We’re in Senoia. Where they film the Walking Dead. I think I’ll be fine with the 3:73s but yes 4:30s would pull very nicely! It took that mountain between Helen and Hiawassee fine in 2nd gear. I feel like if it had the 4:30 it could have done it in 3rd.

Thank you WE3ZS! You were right! My weight distribution hitch wasn’t set up properly. I got working on it this afternoon and it’s much better. Hardly any sag at all! The more I tow with this Excursion the more I like it. Smooth, quiet and sturdy.

Awesome! Glad to have mentioned it and got you looking at it harder.