All last summer I have been collecting materials to build a complete touring setup - bike and all - for under $200. I was going to make panniers out of $5 kitchen-size garbage bins, a $20 walmart tent, a $5 yoga mat for a pad, and a blanket. The bike that I was going to build it all on was an old Trek 700 that I inherited from my father in law. It wasnt special, but it worked well, and was reliable. I donated the bike an a whole lot of other bikes to a bike co-op, and that stalled my project.
I'm going to start a thread about this.