If it was me I wouldn't put a lot of money into this rig. I'd do what I could with it, take it on tour, have a lot of fun, and start saving my money for a "real" touring bike. I started touring on an old 10-speed in the 70's and had a ton of fun, and fell in love with bike touring. The bike wasn't really set up for touring, but I made it work. When I got a real touring bike the difference was significant.