I have done some long touring. I purchased the Trek 520 in 2011 and have been pleased. At that time, I was comparing it to the LHT but could not find one to test ride. Perhaps more stores or the ones in your market have some on their display floor.

The suggestion you already received is a good one. Test ride your choices and see if there is a better fit. My complaints with the Trek is the tires only gave me 1,000 miles. I moved on to Schwalbe Marathon and am very happy. I also changed out the saddle to a Brooks B-17. To be fair, I did that based upon the online suggestions. If I would have purchased a LHT, I would have done the same thing.