Between the Viofo A229 Pro, A139 Pro, Vantrue N4 Pro or Thinkware U3000 which one should I get? Also what is the general opinion on battery packs?

[Chuck McCoy]

that will depend on the USB charger

more likely to work and be reliable if you extend the 12V power socket

setting up a new system, the 12V extension is preferable.

Correct.
However, 12V extension costs more money, and more labor / work.
My “cheap & lazy” method using the included Viofo D3000 CLA Dual USB Charger is more convenient to plug / unplug as needed.
Now when I make “hack job” installs like this I can test cheap aftermarket USB cables with my DROK load tester to see how much current / power the cable can reliably transmit to prevent power starvation issues.
Thanks again to rcg530 for telling me about the DROK tester.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/B07FL3PS57