I've seen a front rack attached to a suspension fork. It is possible with the right adaptations. The weight will probably effect the fork a little. The guy I know who did so who didn't have any issues. He wasn't putting much weight up front.

As Saddlesores mentioned, Your chainstays will need to be long enough to prevent you from having heel strike issues.

If you decide to use a trailer, you shouldn't need a rear rack - The trailer will haul enough.

I'd try some short trips with the mountainbike to see how it feels. You won't need front panniers for a short trip. The fit is the most important thing. My last two mountainbikes have had short chainstays and long top tubes. They didn't work well for touring. I'm envious of all the mountainbike conversions I've seen on BF. I say check your chainstay length and if it's long enough to avoid heel strike, give it a try!