Did my first tour on a bike (Trek 930) that I pulled out of a Dumpster in Boulder,With a two wheel kiddie tralier that I bought at a yard sale for 6 bucks!! I rode from Boulder Co. to Austin Tx. on this thing... It took a couple of days to put the bike back into ridable shape,wheel truing,cleaning,ajustments,after which it gave me no problems!! (sans a couple of flats)
My riding partner on the other hand had a very rough time on the same trip,Broken spokes,broken trailer frame,many flats. he was ill prepared for the trip,didnt go over his bike before he hit the road,no camping gear, no Tools, no bike awareness,hell he didnt even have a helment!! needless to say It was'nt fun for him at all
Yes you can do it on the cheap,I have! But gawd it's nice to have the right stuff thats in nice shape,designed to do what yer asking it to do!!!!
'05 Novara Bonanza MTB,B.O.B.Yak Plus Trailer,MSR Dragonfly Stove,Mountain Hardware Light Wedge III Tent,Kelty Lightyear 25 Deg Sleeping bag...Yes it cost a small handful of cash (and for this hippie it was a LOT!!) But,it's worth it. I am a "Dirtbagger" tourist,I have no credit cards,big pile of savings,family trust fund or some such,have to hustle to feed myself,do bike repairs,stay clean ect as it is,the last thing I would want to deal with is gear or weather problems...Being middle aged dosent help either, the body creaks and growns so some comfort is in order!!
And no it doesnt take a lot of money to bike tour...a little insanity helps!!