Great questions.... I'm sure we have a few others who have been wanting to ask as well, so it's good that you do.
As an organizer/promoter of these events and as a cook as well, I can tell you that you shouldn't be shy. The hardest part about these competitions is just entering your first one. Ask any of the teams on here. Once they got to that first one, they were intimidated, but once they were there and cooking, they were hooked and you will be too.
BBQ Competitions are more than just competitions. The BBQ Community is one Big Family. Just like you see your Motorcycle clubs, Car clubs, Jeep Clubs, etc, we are a family and enjoy BBQing, meeting new people and making new friends. I can't tell you how many great people and great friends I have made since starting this crazyiness, but it's been worth it.
Don't worry about if the contest is big or small, if you have an RV or just a chair and blanket. The biggest thing is just to come on out and experience.
Many times, you can join a team for your first event just to get a feel for it and have them help you meet all the people and get into the "Sport". I know I personally have had numerous Newbies join our AZBarbeque team for events and each time, they were hooked.
I don't have an RV, but I do have quite a setup that I have added to after each competition, but sometimes, I just pack up one tent, a chair and my smoker and go compete. It's that simple at times.
Hopefully you can make it to our BBQ Crawl/Social in June, it would be a great time for you to meet many of our great members as well as really discuss in person all of these items. Just the excitment in everyone's voice as they talk with you about this will have you sold.
Keep the questions coming, that's the main purpose of the site, and we all enjoy the participation.