Mean, Green, Rockcrawling Machine
by Daryl Ashley
Photos: Suzanne Palomo
Thursday, Dec 11, 2008

GREEN...the color of jealousy and when Pepe (Peps) Palomo built his rig, the result was something that would truly turn other off-roaders green with envy.

It was his dad that first planted the off-roading seed and following in his dad's tracks, Peps built and thoroughly abused his first rig, a Jeep. His trips consisted of a lot of local trails but eventually hitting the trails of Johnson Valley and MOAB he was introduced to the thrilling sport of rock crawling.

It is hard to believe it took Peps exactly one year to build his green dream machine and it is even harder to believe that this 1998 Tacoma began as a semi modified, 2 wheel drive, airbagged truck. Satisfied with the original 2.4L engine stuffed into the engine bay, Peps turned his attention to bulletproofing the rest of the Macho Taco. He left the factory W56 transmission to handle the shifting and the addition of a Marlin Crawler dual transfer case setup makes the crawling a walk in the park. A Detroit locked, Dana 60 was added to the front, a spooled Dana 70 takes care of the rear. 5.38's were stuffed into the Dana's to make spinning the giant 42" TSL's as easy if he were riding on asphalt. Mounted on 15" x 10" rims, the off road Overstock beadlocks keep the tires in place when airing down to single digit psi's. Lets not forget that without a lift there are no 42's the All-Pro Off-Road 5" leaf springs provide plenty of lift allowing for extreme articulation. Bilstein 5100's on the front and the rear work in conjunction with the springs to cushion this ride.

Nothing was overlooked, Peps added an All-Pro roll cage completely designed with safety in mind. He then upped the ante by adding seats and extending the cage to the bed of the truck. Crow 5 point harnesses were installed to add further protection for those on board. Custom bumpers on the front and rear and rock sliders on the sides keep his rig from being bullied as he brawls with the trails.

Peps is an active off road enthusiast who is a member of rockbrawlers.com and supports Friends of Johnson Valley. Peps also has two boys ages 7 and 3 who are currently in training to be as avid a crawler as their dad and hopefully someday they will get to take the Macho Taco out for a spin. Right Peps?