@pdxfrogdog - can you recommend a solar suitcase system that you like and won’t break the bank? Would be linked to a one or two battery system, running primary a fridge
On a budget, it's hard to beat one of
Renogy's suitcases. You can buy them with or without a solar controller. If you are just starting out, probably get one with a controller
like this one, but be aware it will limit how far you should position the panels away from your vehicle. You wouldn't want a really long run of wire between the suitcase and vehicle due to voltage drop between the suitcase's onboard controller and your vehicle's house battery(s).
If it was me, I would go with the
100W Eclipse without a controller, then pair it to nice
Victron SmartSolar MPPT charge controller (overkill, but awesome) which is placed right next to the battery to be charged. With this setup, you can have a long run of wire (I use up to 75ft of
12ga low voltage landscape wire from home depot) between the panels and the solar controller. This way I have options for camping in the trees but getting the panels out where they can harvest some energy. This approach also makes it easier for you to grow the system in the future by adding additional panels if your energy needs grow or if you are harvesting in difficult locations (winter, higher latitudes, clouds).
A bonus of the victron smart solar models is you can view detailed info about how much energy you are harvesting via bluetooth connection to a free smartphone app (iOS or android).