MY96Z:
Do yourself a favor, Buy a Warn 8274. If you are actually going to use the winch frequently on the trail they are the best there is. Hydraulic winches work just fine, and if you were skidding logs in the forrest everyday, or using it for work where vehicle recovery is NOT the primary use, then they would probably be a good thing to have. For a Jeep they just aren't that good a solution, because the thing all hydraulic equipment has in common is the engine has to be running for them to work. If the engine won't run (which is one of the primary reasons you would need to winch a Jeep in the first place) you are stuck.
If you have dual batteries, and I think you do, you set the battery system up so there is an "A' battery and a 'B' battery . The A battery runs the car, the B battery runs all of your accessories. You go to "Wrangler NW Power Products" for the hook up.
Both Batteries will charge any time the motor is running, but when in normal operation the winch won't kill the A battery, only the B battery. Also you can use the B battery to start the engine if you kill the A battery, just by flipping a switch. This way you have a battery to pull yourself out of trouble and a battery to restart your engine when you are ready.
This is not possible with a hydraulic winch. When I saw your picture hanging off a winch line, the first thing that came to mind was hanging off a winch line with a dead engine. If you stall or starve for fuel in this position, which is very likely, you are screwed. I have been is this position, and I can assure you, that all you can do is whine like a little bitch until someone rescues you.
I have used one of these segregated dual battery systems for 15 years now and it still works perfectly. In fact it is getting transferred to the DeScrambler soon.
Warn 8274's are arguably the best electric winches ever made, I have NEVER seen one worn out. They hold 150ft of 3/8" cable, and if mounted correctly you could literally hang the Jeep from it and pull yourself strait up 150 ft. I have 2 , both were given to me as junk for free, and both were "reinished" by me and work perfectly. Simple, reliable, cheap to fix.
Like I said you can't do that with a hydraulic winch. In fact there is nothing you can do with a hydraulic winch you can't to with an 8274, however there is plenty you can do with the 8274 you CAN'T DO with the hyd unit.
Do yourself a favor, stick with the electric winch..
www.wranglernw.com
Randy