Trailer tires are date coded with 3 or 4 digits at the end of a string of numbers preceded by DOT, ergo
DOT xxxxxyyyyyzzzzz WX(Y)Z...where the WX tell you week (1-52) and the last (Y)Z tells you year of manufacture.
Couple things of note.
The brand new tires I bought last fall are date coded mid 2004, so if you dont keep a record of when you put them in service and replace on the 5 year recommendation, you could cheat yourself out of some life.
My proposed spare was dated 4374....yep, sure enough they were the original tires on the 1976 EZLoader trailer....I have ordered a new one so Im not even tempted to use these....they hold air great and are also rotted to hades and back....
One more point on date codes - they didnt have to put the decade in so if you have tire 346 it could be a 1976, 1986, or 1996 vintage.....My advice would be evaluate its condition and determine suitability based on an inspection and the usual risk analysis based on usage...
I found marine places selling trailer tires/rims at 2x the price of Champion and other guys who seem more geared for the trailer biz btw....
..and the moral lesson....if the trailer tires fit into the kitchen garbage bag, do I have to pay the $1 to the dump per tire??
