Sara,
With most electronics, if you can wait, you can be assured that you will be able to buy something much better performing, at a much better price. So, if you are 3-4 years out from retirement, you should look at lithium again then.
There really isn't any reason for lithium batteries to be more expensive than lead-acid. They use plentiful natural materials that aren't toxic or dangerous like lead and acid. They are light to ship. They require some management electronics, but there's no reason for those to be expensive. The cost will change as more electric cars use the cells and they are fabricated at greater scale.
Right now I use two GC2 batteries with 400 watts of panels on the rear of the Trailmanor. I could fit another pair of GC2 in the back if I had a reason, but I've not run the first pair dry anywhere that I actually had sun to charge. The solar arrangement was easy to build using only drills and a metal saw, and almost exactly covers the available space in the rear with the shells closed. The panels themselves cost about $500. This keeps the compressor 'fridge running full time and the MaxxFan on its thermostat, various devices on USB chargers, the Riobi drill battery charger, and the trailer's lights and built-in loads.
The batteries have lots of capacity left at sun-up. But the panels are really sensitive to shade and will not work if you park under a tree canopy. I think any solar arrangement will have the same problem
So, I would still carry a lightweight 4-cycle generator to run sometimes during the day when I'm parked in shade. Even lithium won't save you from that.
A good small generator, more panels, and 2 new GC2s will cost less than the lithium batteries alone, at this point.
Make sure to have a battery saver.
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