Tires: Camper Tires, Tire, DOT Date Code

Question
I have a set of Mission 225/75/15 T/C tires on my 5th wheel. I am trying to determine the date manufactured.  The DOT is 4YB3 CL1C. Can you help.

Thanks

Tom

Answer
Tom,

Here's how to tell how old the tires are:

First locate the letters "DOT" on the sidewall of the tire.  Nearby will be the DOT code.  DOT codes are 10 to 12 digits long.  BTW the digits can be numbers or letters.

The first 2 digits are a code for the manufacturing plant.  

In your case, 4Y = Rong Chen Rubber Factory in China.

The next 2 digits are a code for the tire size.  

In your case, B3 = well, they are not following the RMA (Rubber Manufacturers Association) guidelines, but they are not required to.  They just have to be able to demonstrate they have a coding structure.

The next 3 or 4 digits are a code for the type of tire.  

In your case, CL1C = a manufacturer's code that identifies the tire.

The last 3 or 4 digits are the date code.  The format is week/week/year/year or week/week/year.  These are always numbers.

Starting in the year 2000, the date coding used was 4 digits.  That means the largest number you should see for the year is 09.  Before 1999 the format was 3 digits.  1999 and 2000 are transition years, so you will find both 3 and 4 digits.

The date code only has to be on one side – and it is permissible for there to be a partial DOT code, so long as one side has the complete code.

In your case, you don't have it, so look on the other side of the tire.