Daveyboy, your comments about gearing are classic roadie view. As you haven't toured before, just realize that it's a different kettle of fish--but we've all toured extensively with varying loads on varying terrain, and we realize that you will only see what gearing you need when you've actually toured.
Another aspect to take into account with touring is taking care of your knees, and to get past a roadie view of what is sufficiently low gearing. What is low enough depends on many factors, but let's be realistic, you'll only know what works for your load, terrain and legs when you actually do it (and try to be honest of what low you need, not to be affected too much by "roadie shame" of the HTFU factor)
Good luck with figuring out what works best for the type of riding/load that you'll be doing.