I need a hat, a chain for my wallet & a can of snuff.

Done for the day. Parked south of Barstow, CA. Deliver tomorrow morning at 6am and then headed back east.
I can't think of any good places to park south of Barstow unless you are in Victorville or Hesperia unless you are at one of the 4 truck stops or Little Sisters Truck Wash at the Lenwood exit which I consider Barstow.:confused:
 
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Done for the day. Parked south of Barstow, CA. Deliver tomorrow morning at 6am and then headed back east.
Do you bring anything back on the return trip? Sounds as if all went well. I follow your journey on my book of state maps and find many of the places you mention are places my Bride and I traveled through when we were motor homing in the late eighties and all through the nineties.
Here's hoping you get a fast unload and back on the road and safe home.
 
Do you bring anything back on the return trip? Sounds as if all went well. I follow your journey on my book of state maps and find many of the places you mention are places my Bride and I traveled through when we were motor homing in the late eighties and all through the nineties.
Here's hoping you get a fast unload and back on the road and safe home.
Got to this customer 1/2 hour early, basically on time. Still waiting on them to do anything. Meanwhile pre-tripping the router home. I'm going to head from here up to Salina, UT for the night. That is, if these guys get moving. My clock may not allow for me to get there unless they start soon.

Then, I'm hoping to get to Colby, KS where I'll have to do a 34hr reset. From Colby I hope to get to Vandalia Illinois. Then, from Vandalia to western PA (Home). All in all about 40hrs of driving. With the reset it should put me home about Tuesday, early Wednesday. If that's the case I may try to get a load so I can stay out until Friday.

Now, of course, all of this could change should my dispatcher route me elsewhere but that's the plan for now.
 
Side note on hauling Lubricants vs chemicals. When I did chemical hauling, trailers had to be so clean in between loads that you could eat out of then. Oils on the other hand..... The trailer simply needs to be 'diesel flushed', err rinsed with diesel fluid between products. The diesel breaks down the oil leaving the inside of the tanker with a little diesel residue. That's considered clean for an oil tanker.
 
Side note on hauling Lubricants vs chemicals. When I did chemical hauling, trailers had to be so clean in between loads that you could eat out of then. Oils on the other hand..... The trailer simply needs to be 'diesel flushed', err rinsed with diesel fluid between products. The diesel breaks down the oil leaving the inside of the tanker with a little diesel residue. That's considered clean for an oil tanker.
Is there much difference concerning hazmat?
 
Is there much difference concerning hazmat?
No, not really. You just have to make sure you have all of your paperwork in order and within reach should you get stopped. You also need to have you emergency response guide handy in case of a spill. The ERG manual is used by everyone that would respond to the scene of an accident that would involve a hazmat load. Hauling a hazmat load is somewhat of a magnet when it comes to DOT inspections. I've been stopped a few times but everything has always been in order.
 
So..... Change of plans. Rather than heading home, I'm now heading to Chicago. Stopped in Salina, UT for the evening. Going to have two 700+ mile days ahead of me to get to Chicago. I think I'm going to come up just short but I'm up for the challenge. After I call it a day tomorrow afternoon I've got to get in a 34hr reset/restart before I can continue driving. Fortunately a Sunday full of NFL games falls within that time. Resets suck but I guess they're necessary. By the time I shut down tomorrow I will have driven a little over 4000 miles this week. That'll be the most I've ever driven in a weeks time.
 
So..... Change of plans. Rather than heading home, I'm now heading to Chicago. Stopped in Salina, UT for the evening. Going to have two 700+ mile days ahead of me to get to Chicago. I think I'm going to come up just short but I'm up for the challenge. After I call it a day tomorrow afternoon I've got to get in a 34hr reset/restart before I can continue driving. Fortunately a Sunday full of NFL games falls within that time. Resets suck but I guess they're necessary. By the time I shut down tomorrow I will have driven a little over 4000 miles this week. That'll be the most I've ever driven in a weeks time.

Although it sounds like you won't be in town long enough for much more than a couple cups of coffee . . . .

welcome to my home town.
 
Although it sounds like you won't be in town long enough for much more than a couple cups of coffee . . . .

welcome to my home town.
Going to be there long enough to get in my 10hr break. Since it's your home town, do you know what channel is the ABC affiliate in Chicago? I want to watch the Steelers / bears game tonight. It should be on ABC since I'll be in Chicago. Thanks.
 
Going to be there long enough to get in my 10hr break. Since it's your home town, do you know what channel is the ABC affiliate in Chicago? I want to watch the Steelers / bears game tonight. It should be on ABC since I'll be in Chicago. Thanks.

The MNF game will be on ESPN, of course, but for Chicago area folks without cable the antenna broadcast will be over WGN-TV which is Channel 9.

Apparently ABC (Channel 7) has dedicated Dancing With The Stars fans that they can't disappoint.
 
Picked up a preloaded trailer last night in Chicago. Drove to Syracuse, NY early this morning for a delivery tomorrow morning.
 
Offloading now. Not sure what my next destination is to be. I'm guessing that they will have me take this empty down to New Jersey. I would like to see them have me hook up a Preload and head to the Toronto area to deliver before heading home.

This Friday will be the end of a four week stint. The longest that I've went out for this company. Usually, when you choose to go out longer, you get better loads.

During these past four weeks I've gone.....

Pittsburgh>River Rouge, MI>Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh>Washington, PA>Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh>Monahans, TX>Swedesboro, NJ

Swedesboro, NJ>Paulsboro, NJ>Swedesboro, NJ

Swedesboro, NJ>Toronto, ON>Swedesboro, NJ

Swedesboro, NJ>Vernon, CA>Chicago, IL

Chicago, IL>Syracuse, NY >?????

Lots of miles!
 
Dispatched to Pittsburgh with this empty trailer. Then, it's off to St. Thomas, Ontario where I'll deliver tomorrow. Afterwards, back to Pittsburgh where I'm guessing my stint ends tomorrow night. Probably sleep in the truck again and head home Friday morning.

Today's plan is to hit Walmart by Erie, PA for supplies in the way to Pittsburgh. Go to Pittsburgh to drop and hook. Get to the border by Ft. Erie tonight. Stay there and then deliver tomorrow afternoon where I'll then head home.....
 

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An update since my last time home.....

I got back out on the road on the 17th but it wasn't without issue. When I got back to where I park my truck that night before, I found that someone had ran into the right front corner of my rig. Some cosmetic damage but also a busted bumper mount.

They had me scheduled to do a Preload Wednesday morning followed by another load that I would haul for delivery in Kentucky. That all got changed in order to have my bumper mount fixed.

I stayed hooked to my Preload from Wednesday morning that I would later deliver in North Carolina. Then, I was routed to one of our shops in West Virginia for repairs. In addition to the bumper I had also been noticing issues with what I thought was the starter. It took most of the day for service but I was soon sent on my way. I still had reservations about the starter because something just didn't seem right.

I delivered down in North Carolina as planned and then got sent back to Pittsburgh. From there I bobtailed up into south central New York to pick up an empty trailer from a drop lot. I brought it back from NY to Pittsburgh, turned around going back for yet another empty. That one, I took to a yard in New Jersey to have cleaned.

I was then and to get in a 34hr reset before heading to Paulsboro NJ to do a couple preloads.

I then received dispatch from NJ to deliver in Calgary, AB this coming Monday. Because I was making such great time, I had them move my delivery time to this morning so I could get up to Canada and get the heck out of there before any weather hit. That way I could get back in the states getting in another 34hr reset before heading home for next weekend.

What is that they say about the best laid plans? So at one of my fuel stops, near Minneapolis I topped off on fuel and DEF. I completed a 10hr layover to reset my clock and head on my way. I planned on staying in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan before my final push to Calgary for a 7am delivery today. About 200 miles north west of Fargo, ND I started experiencing a power issue. Couldn't keep my truck at speed on the mostly flat terrain. Next thing I know my truck is saying that I need to do a manual regen. I saw that there was a small truck stop about a mile up the road that would be safe to pull off. Before I could even put my turn signal on the engine went into a full derate. Seeing as it was the middle of the night, no traffic, crawled into the lot. The truck was still running thankfully as it was 2 below zero right around that 3am time. Needed the heat, that's for sure. Being that it was Thanksgiving Day, the fuel stop that I was at was closed for the holiday. Basically I was in the middle of nowhere about 200 miles beyond Fargo and almost the same to the border. To make matters a little worse, all of the bells and lights were going off on the dash indicating that the truck shouldn't be drivin.

I called my breakdown # to report the issue. We tried troubleshooting a few things to no avail. The truck was going to have to be serviced. Basically I waited from about 330am until 630pm before the tire truck finally showed up. Heck, it was Thanksgiving..... I'm lucky I didn't have to wait longer than that. They had me drop my trailer and proceeded to tow me the approx 200 miles back to Fargo. So here I sit. Seems that there may be multiple issues. Some due to the cold, possible bad fuel/DEF. Oh, and the other, the starter. Seems that there was still an issue and they are replacing that as I type. I think that they may find more than that as I'm confused why my truck went into a full derate less than five hours after I had done a forced regen.

I'm now wondering whether or not I'll get this load delivered this coming Monday. Anyhow that sums up this stint to date. Hopefully the weather cooperates over this next week and I can get this delivered and get home by next Friday. I'm ready for a good night's sleep.
 
This seems to be the first time I recall you have had long term major issues when on the road. Naturally they had to occur during the early morning hours of Thanksgiving Day and end at a truck stop that remained closed. I think the gremlins plan these misadventures well in advance just to mess with your mind.
Luckily, you could keep the heater going and there were some football games on the telly for your viewing pleasure. Right??
Hopefully things will turn around for the rest of the trip and go smoothly for the delivery and return home.
I guess it messed with your Thanksgiving even if the intent was to have it while on the road.

Safe travels, keep us posted.
 
The latest.....

My truck still hasn't been fixed. Looks like it's going to get towed to the Peterbilt dealer in Fargo. They don't even be able to look at it until Wednesday at the earliest.

The plan..... Moved to a local hotel for the night. Going to catch a flight from here to Chicago tomorrow afternoon where I'll then Uber to our Chicago terminal. Another truck is waiting for me there. I'll catch a little sleep in Chicago and leave there under the cover of darkness. Always easier to get out of there in the middle of the night. I'll then drive the 653 miles from the terminal back to where my current truck is. Swap the items I want and then head north on Sunday night after a 10hr break. I'll have to do another 10hr between Fargo and Calgary but I should be able to deliver on Tuesday. On the way back through, if my trucks done, I'll swap rides again. Otherwise I'll take the Chicago truck on home. They then will have to fly me back out to Fargo when my trucks done. Who thought tricking was that difficult? I know I didn't.
 
Always entertained reading about your road trips. Times like this I am amazed at how calm you can be with what gets thrown at you.
 
DAMN! Deadheading 600 plus miles is a workout on its own!! Wondering now what kind of truck they'll give you to complete the job. Hopefully it won't be a yard truck that has been driven hard and put away dirty. I guess if the home comfort things like heat, a working refrigerator, and no major drafts or loud wind noises streaming through a porous cab will all be a plus.
I know whatcha mean about Chicago. In the early '90's my Bride and I took our motorhome to a suburb to help our daughter and her husband move to North Carolina. We were driving through Chicago around 2 in the afternoon and traffic was nearly at a standstill. I got on the cb radio try to find out what was going on and the guy who answered said, "It's rush hour traffic."
"What!?? Rush hour traffic? It's 2 in the afternoon. What time does it start?"
He replied, "...starts at 5 a.m. and ends at 1 a.m. Everything in between is rush hour traffic."
HA! And I thought driving around Atlanta was bad!! Although, while relating driving experiences, I think the worse drivers are in Massachusetts. But that is another story.

Safe trip DPK. Hope things start looking up and you return safely, no issues, and no more problems!!
 
DAMN! Deadheading 600 plus miles is a workout on its own!! Wondering now what kind of truck they'll give you to complete the job. Hopefully it won't be a yard truck that has been driven hard and put away dirty. I guess if the home comfort things like heat, a working refrigerator, and no major drafts or loud wind noises streaming through a porous cab will all be a plus.
I know whatcha mean about Chicago. In the early '90's my Bride and I took our motorhome to a suburb to help our daughter and her husband move to North Carolina. We were driving through Chicago around 2 in the afternoon and traffic was nearly at a standstill. I got on the cb radio try to find out what was going on and the guy who answered said, "It's rush hour traffic."
"What!?? Rush hour traffic? It's 2 in the afternoon. What time does it start?"
He replied, "...starts at 5 a.m. and ends at 1 a.m. Everything in between is rush hour traffic."
HA! And I thought driving around Atlanta was bad!! Although, while relating driving experiences, I think the worse drivers are in Massachusetts. But that is another story.

Safe trip DPK. Hope things start looking up and you return safely, no issues, and no more problems!!
The truck is another Pete just like mine..... Ready to be retired. A buddy of mine was in the seat of this truck a month or so ago while his was being serviced. It's got 500,000+ miles on it and has it's share of character.

Yeah, traffic sucks there. I don't get too stressed about driving in the traffic, it's just the time lost. I like to put a lot of miles in my rearview in the shortest amount of time possible and the beltway around Chicago rarely cooperates with that. At or around 2am isn't too bad though. Miles are money!
 
Made it to Chicago Saturday evening. Waited until midnight before heading back to Fargo in another truck.

This truck was obviously used by someone that has an affinity for nicotine. Nothing against smokers. I was one for a long, long time quite a while back, but man, this truck smells bad! It's got a layer of soot throughout. Once I got to Fargo I did my best to wipe it down, febreze it and load it with air fresheners. Doesn't make a difference. Too overpowering. I'm still with it for this run but told them I wanted another for my next stint. They did offer to have me just stay in hotel rooms while I'm out with this truck but that's more trouble than it's worth when it comes to parking.

Left Fargo this morning. I'm in Medicine Hat, AB for the day/night. Leaving after my 10 to go park at the customer. I'm about 2 1/2 hours away. I'll deliver in the morning and then it's back to Chicago to pick up a preload where I'll then head home. Hope to be there Friday.

776 miles in the book today. Only made possible by Canada's 13 hour driving clock.
 
Finally here ready to deliver, south of Calgary, after running 3260 miles into what should have been a 2361 mile trip. My delivery time is open ended here. They could take me first thing or later in the day. Hopefully first thing. I'm ready to head homeward.

Today's delivery is 6800 gallons of synthetic motor oil. It's a 7000 gallon trailer so the surge isn't bad. It's almost completely full. The ride is pretty smooth compared to other liquids. The worst stuff that I've hauled, as far as surge, is antifreeze. Antifreeze is heavy. Because it's so heavy the trailer would only be about 2/3 full. With all of that weight moving around in that open space it makes for a rough ride when that liquid hits either end of the tank. It never quits moving traveling down the road. Makes it harder to stop and turn. Also, when coming to a stop at an intersection, if you don't have your foot firmly on the brake, there's a chance that it can throw your truck into the intersection unexpectedly. It's only magnified when the roads are wet or icy.

I haul both single bore and multi compartment trailers. A single bore is simply a tank that can only haul a single product. There are no baffles inside. They're just one big tank. They come in all sizes. Most of our single bores max out at about 7000 gallons. Compartment trailers are what you see delivering at gas stations. They come in 2-5 compartments. I'm sure there are exceptions but that is the range that I haul. The compartments are different sizes within the single trailer but the sum is the compartments is roughly the same from one compartment trailer to the next. Compartment trailers haul easier as the surge is greatly reduced but there are other worries and things to consider. You always want to keep the weight evenly distributed front to back. That means you have to rely on your math skills to determine how to divide up products to keep it stable when going down the road. For those that have multiple delivery points with the same load you need to make sure that whatever amount of product you remove from the tanker still allows for even distribution. Many times I pull 4 compartment trailers that 2-3 seperate products are loaded. Knowing which product and how much to split can be confusing at times but it's extremely important.

Loading..... Most of the tanks that I now pull are loaded through API fittings at the bottom of the trailer. There's an API fitting or port for each compartment on the trailer. The trailer is vented by opening the dome lid for each compartment, the hose is then connected to the API fitting at the bottom of the tanker, valves are opened and the product is then pushed into the tanker until the desired amount is loaded into the compartment. Each of the compartments are loaded in that manner. Enough of Tanker 101 for the day.

Still not 100% sure if they're going to have me pick up that pre-loaded trailer in Chicago. I'm any event, you can't get home from here without going through Chicago. Right now I've got my timing set to get through there in the middle of the night. Daytime can easily add a couple hours because of their congestion.

Hope to be home by Friday.
 
I am genuinely surprised to learn the tankers are loaded from the bottom upward. I really appreciate your info on the different aspects of driving a tractor/trailer, the nuances of stopping, pulling a tanker with zero compartments versus one with multiple compartments, mixing and equalizing the different loads. It certainly isn't as easy as you might expect.
Had coffee yesterday with a chap who hauled nationwide for several years, until the company he worked for was bought out and over-the-road transport within the corporation was done away with.
He ended up hauling auto parts from the U.S. to Canada and was commenting about the benefits of his job once he made that move. Apparently the teamsters union made sure the drivers were well paid and got numerous benefits.
I told him of your adventures and he was commenting on how things have changed since he retired about ten years ago. Crossing into Canada was anywhere from fifteen minutes to a one hour wait but only because of traffic volume.
Keep the stories and knowledge coming. Safe travels!!
 
I am genuinely surprised to learn the tankers are loaded from the bottom upward. I really appreciate your info on the different aspects of driving a tractor/trailer, the nuances of stopping, pulling a tanker with zero compartments versus one with multiple compartments, mixing and equalizing the different loads. It certainly isn't as easy as you might expect.
Had coffee yesterday with a chap who hauled nationwide for several years, until the company he worked for was bought out and over-the-road transport within the corporation was done away with.
He ended up hauling auto parts from the U.S. to Canada and was commenting about the benefits of his job once he made that move. Apparently the teamsters union made sure the drivers were well paid and got numerous benefits.
I told him of your adventures and he was commenting on how things have changed since he retired about ten years ago. Crossing into Canada was anywhere from fifteen minutes to a one hour wait but only because of traffic volume.
Keep the stories and knowledge coming. Safe travels!!
The tankers that I'm currently hauling are loaded from the bottom. I'm hauling mostly lubricants, motor oils and the like. When I was hauling chemicals, they were loaded through the dome.

The border crossings aren't all that bad but I usually cross at night. Some crossings are much larger and busy than others. I just crossed through the North Portal Crossing in North Dakota. I've never waited in line there. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere. About 4 hours of two lane driving off of the interstate to reach that location.
 
They took delivery first thing yesterday morning. I was able to get back to the border crossing by last night. Parked and then crossed in the morning. Continued on the morning making it a little east of Minneapolis, St Paul into Wisconsin. Only about 6 hours tomorrow to Chicago. They had a load sitting there that they wanted me to deliver but that got cancelled just before I parked for the day. They may have another for me or maybe not. In any event,I should be getting home by Friday sometime. Fine by me. This past week has sucked with the truck issues but whatcha gonna do? Things work till they don't. Not a big deal.
 
Checked a bunch of things of the Todo List while home but I'm back in the seat again. Scheduled to run through the evening of the 23rd.

Starting off with preloading 3 trailers. 2am was the first appt with a single bore. 6300 gal of motor oil. Finished that load and dropped it off at the local yard for someone else to deliver.

My 2nd appointment was at 6am. Same location as the first. They said I could come in early which is what I did. Getting loaded now. A four compartment trailer with two different products. I split the first product between the first two compartments and the 2nd product between the final two compartments. This trailer will also go back to the yard for someone else to deliver.

My 3rd preload of the day will be another four compartment trailer only with three products to be divided between compartments. I don't know the trailer configuration yet so I can't do the math until I see the trailer. It's scheduled for 10am but I hope for then to take it early. Same location as the first two.

This location has seven bays in which you can be loaded. Bays #1 and #2 are particularly hard to back in. All are extremely tight especially when you have a truck on either side or both sides. You could say that I hate this place.

After I finish my 3rd preload this morning, there's a loaded trailer waiting for me to be delivered northeast of Montreal on Wednesday morning. That ain't gonna happen. I can't make it there by the scheduled time and they know that. It's being rescheduled once I start heading in that direction.

Got word that my truck, sitting on Fargo, has been repaired. They are to get me routed in that direction at some point so I can get back on my ride. The sooner the better. This thing smells like an ashtray. My guess is I'll get routed from the Montreal area down to New Jersey. I hope to get a load from there to western Canada which would take me trough Fargo where I could swap rides.
 
Do all driver have to do multiple pre-loads for other delivery drivers?
We had a couple guys that did preloads out of this particular terminal. One was fired because he was always late for his load times. So..... When we've been starting our stints, we normally load a couple preloads. This time it's three. I'd rather be driving.
 
Here's a pic of the API connections for a four compartment trailer. The larger cap is over the API fitting where the product is pushed into the compartment. The smaller call is where the house would be hooked on to offload a load. The numbers above represent the size, in gallons, of each compartment.

The 3rd of my three preloads today had three different products. Each compartment needs to be loaded with some level of product.

Compartment sizes are....

1 - 2500 gallons
2 - 1300
3 - 1700
4 - 3000

This load called for the products.....

Products
A - 2000 gallons
B - 1500
C - 3000

You're only allowed to fill the compartments within 200 gallons of capacity. At the same time, you try to keep the load relatively even from front to back. I divided this load as outlined below.....

Compartments.....

1 - 2000 gal - Product A
2 - 1000 - C
3 - 1500 - B
4 - 2000 - C
 

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Checked a bunch of things of the Todo List while home but I'm back in the seat again. Scheduled to run through the evening of the 23rd.

Starting off with preloading 3 trailers. 2am was the first appt with a single bore. 6300 gal of motor oil. Finished that load and dropped it off at the local yard for someone else to deliver.

My 2nd appointment was at 6am. Same location as the first. They said I could come in early which is what I did. Getting loaded now. A four compartment trailer with two different products. I split the first product between the first two compartments and the 2nd product between the final two compartments. This trailer will also go back to the yard for someone else to deliver.

My 3rd preload of the day will be another four compartment trailer only with three products to be divided between compartments. I don't know the trailer configuration yet so I can't do the math until I see the trailer. It's scheduled for 10am but I hope for then to take it early. Same location as the first two.

This location has seven bays in which you can be loaded. Bays #1 and #2 are particularly hard to back in. All are extremely tight especially when you have a truck on either side or both sides. You could say that I hate this place.

After I finish my 3rd preload this morning, there's a loaded trailer waiting for me to be delivered northeast of Montreal on Wednesday morning. That ain't gonna happen. I can't make it there by the scheduled time and they know that. It's being rescheduled once I start heading in that direction.

Got word that my truck, sitting on Fargo, has been repaired. They are to get me routed in that direction at some point so I can get back on my ride. The sooner the better. This thing smells like an ashtray. My guess is I'll get routed from the Montreal area down to New Jersey. I hope to get a load from there to western Canada which would take me trough Fargo where I could swap rides.
It sounds like you are keeping busy. Stay safe... there isn't a load that can't be rescheduled.
 
Finished offloading east of Montreal this morning. I'm not a fan of Eastern Canada. Their radio stations suck and I need an interpreter to communicate to the customers. The miles to get there are decent though.

Anyhow, my dispatch was to take the empty to New Jersey where I'll be doing a Preload tomorrow morning. Afterwards, I'll drop that at the yard and hook up to a pre-loaded trailer with my name on it. Destination..... Portland Oregon! Heck yeah! I haven't had the opportunity to hit a few states in that region but it looks like I will by next week. Another good thing..... They are going to route me through Fargo, ND so I can get back into my truck. That is welcome news to me. I can take the smell of this one much longer.
 
Sounds good. I can't imagine sitting in an odorous cigarette smoke for hours. They say there is nothing worse than a reformed smoker and with me that is true. I can smell stale or current tobacco smoke from a distance. To be cooped up in an environment with it for hours and days on end must really grate on your senses. I imagine it still permeates your clothes even though you don't smoke and that means you carry the stink with you. Caw manure is a more acceptable smell than stale cigarette smoke.
Better days are coming and perhaps your rig will have everything repaired and replaced for many trouble free miles. Safe travels. Still following your travels on my atlas.
 
In Fargo and back in my own truck! Spent nearly 3 hours transitioning everything between trucks this morning. Spending the next couple hours doing laundry to get the ashtray smell out of all my clothing and bedding. Damn it's nice to be back in my old, soon to be out to pasture, truck
 
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