I've been searching the web for some old design aggressive tread 7.50 x 17s for the project MH. All the available new tires are either from China, or Mexico to my understanding. Plus, none that I've found in that size really have what I'd call an authentic old traction tread design.

So, I was cruising Craigs List and landed on an ad for a set that were claimed to be new old stock. Cooper Courser Traction LTs. I've read all the safety warnings about using old tires, and the risks of tread separation, UV damage, etc. But there's no way this old MH is gonna be much of a driver. More like on and off the trailer. So I drove down to the St. Louis metro east area to have a look at the tires.

Here's what I found. Four 7.50 x 17s, plus two 8-19.5s that the guy hadn't advertised. Bias ply nylon, load range D, 8 ply, NOS with stickers still on all the tires. Nasty aggressive looking tread design. Made in the USA. Stored back in a dark warehouse, laying flat as is recommended. No checking or other flaws. Exactly what I was wanting, so I bought them all. But I'm wondering just how old they are?

I've read all the web explanations for deciphering production dates, but these codes don't match the descriptions. So I'm wondering if anybody knows whether the date coding wasn't required until some later year. Here's what the tires are coded. The 17s are:

UPX6 BX7378 H08L
UPX6 BX7429 G08R
UPX6 BX7080 G08L
UPX6 BX7378 H08L

All the stickers have a print date of 6/88.

The two 19.5s are both:

UP12 BX6204 R6L

The stickers have a print date of 3/93.

Considering that new tires, tubes, flaps, shipping, and maybe tax would have cost north of $1200, I think my $285 cash was a deal. So, anybody know details on date coding history? Stu

 

There should be a code that starts with DOT, the date is usually only on one side, so the DOT code will be longer. If the tires were made before 2000, they will have only 3 numbers in the date.

 

From Wikipedia:

"DETERMINING TIRE DATE CODES

How old are the tires on your vehicle? The date of manufacture is indicated by the last group of digits in the DOT manufacture code on the sidewall of the tire. The number is often stamped in a recessed rectangle. The DOT code tells who manufactured the tire, where it was made and when. The last group of digits in the code is the date code that tells when the tire was made.

Before 2000, the date code had three digits. Since 2000, it has had four. The first two digits are the week of the year (01 = the first week of January). The third digit (for tires made before 2000) is the year (1 = 1991). For most tires made after 2000, the third and fourth digits are the year (04 = 2004).

In the photo above, the date code is 8PY806. The 8PY is a manufacturing shift code, and the date the tire was actually made was 0806, which is the 8th week (08)in the year 2006 (06).

The date of manufacture is essential information for car owners and tire buyers because tires deteriorate even if they are not used. European automobile manufacturers recommend replacing ANY tire that is more than six (6) years old, including the spare tire. No such recommendations have yet been made by domestic vehicle manufacturers."

I'm not sure they did date codes uniformly in the '80's? I don't see a relevant number for your '90's either.

 

Yeah, I've read those descriptions too but don't find the codes to follow those patterns. I'm guessing early '90s for the group since they are all exactly the same tread design, and were stacked together in the warehouse as a group. Heck, the fact of the 19.5s being bias ply says they're old as heck. I doubt you can buy a non-radial 19.5 today unless it'd be from Universal or one of the specialty suppliers.

I'm glad the guy had the 19.5s because it gives me a couple spares for the truck. I was originally concerned buying just the four 17s that the truck would have to have some oddball tire hanging under it as a spare. This way somebody would have to look real close under the truck to see that it's a different tire and wheel size. A 19.5 is actually the same outside diameter as a 17, so if it came to needing them as spares they'd work fine. Stu

 

I looked at the aggresive mud tires on my Jeep, they are from late 80's, early 90's, and they don't have a DOT code on them. Is it possible the aggresive tread is not DOT approved for highway use?

 

You just chased me back out to the shop to look at them again. They do have the letters DOT preceding all the other codes I listed above. Plus I read the stickers and they talk about road hazards, etc. The guy that listed them on CL did, however, call them "Farm Tires". Plus I've Googled the tire name and found some owner critiques of how they behave on the road. Not complementary, so it's not a stretch to think they aren't really meant for the road. Stu

 

Check this out -- no help on the date codes, but some interesting info:

Tire Manufacturer Codes - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

Someone else had trouble finding the date codes on Cooper tires:

Tires: Cooper tires, Tire DOT Code

 

Stu,
Sweet score on those tires!!!

I dont know anything about the codes or dates, but I know on those Dayton 22.5's I picked up last month had a year stamp in them. I think they were about 1964
Hope they hold together long enough for me to actually use them



BTW Ross your hazard lights are on, did your truck break down? Jk

 

Boy, that's great info Ross. Thanks. It's hard to imagine there are that many tire manufacturers in the world. I've looked pretty close at these to see if there are any markings on the opposite side, but didn't see any. I'll look again in the morning. BTW, nice touch on the lights.

Josh - Are you saying there's a 1964 date on the Budd (not Dayton) wheels or did you find a date on the old tires? If you found a date on your tires, why can't I find one on mine? Stu

 

You hear about "everything" being made in China nowadays, but that list was an eye-opener for me! Next time I am shopping for tires, I'm going to take that list along. If you've ever looked at second tier brands, the salesmen always claim "made by Goodyear", "Michelin's store brand", etc "wink wink" same quality lower price blah blah blah. The list will put the lie to that.

The light is pretty cool, huh?!

 

Stu, those look quite similar to the old 'Super Crest all purpose' tires (6.5x16) I have on my old 16" rims from my F1. Nice score.

 

Well, Scott, that F-1 must have been a 4x4 too seeing that's it's got snow tires on the front !! Cars and trucks like that used to get called "(silently insert your favorite ethnic slur here) Eldorados".

You're right, the old tread designs were just better looking than what I've found in these sizes on current tires. In smaller sizes you can find them, but not on these oddball big sizes. Stu

 

DOT = [US] Department of Transportation

 

I'm sure you've seen this, but I'll post the link anyway, just for reference, from the Tire Rack regarding the decoding of tire marks. I thought it was a good explanation.

Tire Tech Information - Determining the Age of a Tire

But since you know your tires are newer than 1988, by the stickers on them, they should have some kind of date coding since DOT has required tires to be dated prior to that.

 

Wayne - That's one of the first sites I looked at and, significantly I think, the picture shows that a plate with the date information was screwed to the mold at time of manufacturer. That's the same appearance as the information on mine that I posted above, except mine used flat blade screws instead of phillips head.

I did, however, take a second look with the shop light and found some other info. But I'm not convinced these are the dates either. Molded into the sidewall, very near the bead, and very neatly/graphically presented are the following:

17s:

6305 FO H-504
6305 FO H-506
6305 FO H-506
6305 FO H-506

19.5s:

6305 FO H-507
6305 FO H-507

If these were the production dates, they'd all have been made in the 50th weeks of '94, '96, and '97. What are the odds of all of them all being made in the 50th weeks of three different years. Unlikely I think, and again the numbers would not have been easily changed from week to week. These were clearly engraved into the molds. It's a puzzle. Stu