planning on the following;
1) being told that you could have done a search and found "an abundance of information" lol
2) plan on spending a butt load of money
3) plan on making sure your wife is all in on your upgrading your BBQ rig so you can do it proper.
4) plan on receiving a multitude of opinions.
as for me, I am relatively new at this as well.......i went all in 1.5 years ago and got a myron mixon mms-48 smoker and a 12 foot enclosed cargo trailer to haul things in, including the smoker. I love the smoker and the trailer is cool.
with that said, after going around some comps and checking out other rigs and setups AND literally dealing with some of the worst rain in recorded history at our comps and some high winds, I can tell you without hesitation that my advice to you is based on how far you want to go with this and how much money are capable of spending.
we do tents and have the trailer, smoker and a portable sink. we setup our town tables and and just take it form there. it works well but you are still quite a bit in the elements, even with sides on your tents and portable heaters. and when it's hot there is no escaping it.
but our setup is based on my level of interest combined with my ability to spend money. even with our modest setup I have easily spent over 13k on the smoker, trailer, and all the tables, tents, chairs, sink, and accessories to do this.
but as I walk around competitions, I can also tell you that the majority of teams I see have rigs that usually contain some sort of RV and BBQ porch. this is BY FAR the setup I would have if I were all in and could afford it.
with that kind of setup you sleep indoors and set your own temps.
you have your own bathroom and not a damn portapotty to use.
if it's raining and windy you prep your food indoors, you cook the food inside your porch and then when its time to build your box you do it indoors and out of the elements.
I can say without hesitation, that having that kind of setup provides those teams with a huge advantage over teams that do not have that kind of setup.....it's not to say that a team with a modest setup cannot perform well.....they can. but look at it like this, you can deliver a baby in the back seat of a moving car on your way to the hospital and things turn out just fine......but wouldnt you rather let your wife have the baby in a sterile, clean proper environment for delivering babies? as a cook, I would a thousand times rather be able to be inside a RV taking care of things than outside in the wind, rain or heat trying to make food good enough to win a contest.
so in summary, if you are on a budget then get a smoker and some kind of trailer that will allow to travel dry and keep your equipment dry. you will need sides on your tents, tables and some comfortable way to be able to wash things as it is needed. other than that, I would recommend a fan or two and a portable heater.
if you have the money and are willing to do it, then buy at least a BBQ porch and if you really want to go all in, get an RV to pull your porch with.
it's addictive, fun, frustrating, exciting, tiring and all kinds of stuff to do this.....good luck in whatever direction you go.