Solar regulators

i was looking at smart solar regulators like the Steca and Plasmatronics that give information as to the state of charge (SOC) of the battery. However as my intended solar set up will not support the load at all times the battery will be charged via the vehicle alternator when travelling and a honda powered 80 amp alternator to be used when stationary to put in a bulk charge and let the solar panel continue to charge.
So for most regulators used this way the SOC information is irrelevant as the regulator is unaware of inputs from other sources than solar. My understanding is only the plasmatronics with the addition of a shunt kit is capable of giving meaningful state of charge information in this application.

I have one 100 amp AGM battery and will probably buy another one. I intend to buy 2 x 65 amp panels and hinge them together so that they can be vehicle mounted or portable. This trip is camped for 4 weeks on the coast with 2 X 40 litre engels. So it seems I need the plasmatronics unit to do the job properly but as its not cheap I was wondering what others are doing or using and how they can tell the true state of the battery ?
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