When I started I was very poor. I went on lots of trips and had a great time. The only mechanical issues I had were a couple of broken spokes. I rode an old Raleigh 10 speed. The low wasn't nearly low enough, but I was young; I seldom had to walk up hills. Instead I'd grunt and groan and make it to the top. I bought some pack cloth from a backpacking store and sewed my own panniers. They weren't great but they worked and I still have them. I designed them with a diagonal cut so my heels (size 13 feet) wouldn't hit. It worked. I had an old, cheap sleeping bag I got for free for attending a presentation on why I should buy a private campsite. (Yeah, right!) I had a cheap, single-wall "pup tent" that worked well enough at keeping me dry. I ate cold food from the grocery store - canned tuna, beef jerky, fruits and vegetables - or heated stuff in a can over a fire - beans, beef stew, canned vegetable. No stove or cookware at that time. I stealth camped 90% of the time. It worked out great, although I much prefer my present means of touring and don't wish to go back.

Since you have steel frames, I say make them work. Make them as comfortable as possible. Consider upgrading to lower gearing, but if you're young and strong you may be able to go with what you have. The first rack I had was a Pletscher from a department store. It always worked and never broke. I carried one spare tube, a set of tire irons, and a floor pump I bought at a thrift store. You should have the ability to fix flats because they'll likely happen. However, you only need one set of tools between the three of you.

Dedicated touring trailers are nice and can solve a lot of problems, but they're also expensive. If you really want to both economize and go the trailer route, consider an old trailer for towing young children around. Lots of parents buy them when their kids are little, then sell them cheaply when their kids outgrow them. A kid trailer is probably wide, which is a bit of an inconvenience, but you're trying to economize, right? I met a dad at a hiker biker site north of San Francisco who was camping with his grownup son. They had taken the boy's old trailer and filled it with camping gear, an ice chest full of beer, and a little barbecue! I also met a homeless couple on the Oregon coast who were riding a couple of really beat up old department store mountain bikes, and pulling their stuff in a little red wagon they had found in a dumpster. They tied the handle of the wagon to the back of their bike somehow. I was dubious, but they said they had already covered over 500 miles!

I'm about 30 years removed from the kid who used to tour on that old Raleigh. Now I've got really good equipment - everything I could want - and I manage to save enough money each year so that I can spend what I want on my summer tours - restaurant food, campgrounds (not stealth camping), even motels if I want. But if you're creative you can tour with much less, and spend much less, and still have a wonderful time, especially if you're young!

Have a great trip.