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Do serial numbers ever change?

beckel

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I know that the date on the data plate can change after a reset or other major overhaul but does anyone know if the Serial number itself ever changes?

I ask because some of the newer trucks on GP look much older than their data plate would suggest and many have data plates that have clearly been replaced.

I assume the serial number doesn't change so if the serial number matches the trucks produced during that time I can safely assume the age of the truck matches the delivery date on the plate?
 

Guyfang

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Well, we once did an upgrade on a PATRIOT piece of equipment, that meant we changed the serial number to reflect that it had become another completely different item.

And yes, several times we changed data plates to turn in junk, instead of serviceable equipment.
 

CARNAC

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I could potentially see it in a remanufactured item. That would bring up questions on specific contract requirements that would definite require more research time than I would be interested in putting into it. The scenario from the op....I don't see it.
 

Suprman

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Since this is the humvee forum, I have had a few recent reman humvee they had the original year and serial stamped on new data plates. The plate will have a registration number which is usually painted somewhere on the truck also. That being said I could see an unintentional switch at rebuild. So many trucks in so many out. With everything disassembled stripped and/or replaced its gotta be hard to keep track of what came from what truck.
 

Action

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AMGeneral assigned a different number to each humvee built. If a humvee gets a different data plate put on, then another humvee lost it's number, theoretically. Or folks just make them up.
 

CARNAC

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AMGeneral assigned a different number to each humvee built. If a humvee gets a different data plate put on, then another humvee lost it's number, theoretically. Or folks just make them up.
That is correct. You couldn't have it any other way. The Army property accountability system used since the early 2000's checks across the system for duplicates in serial number and registration number. This is Army and I won't speak to the other services.
 

Guyfang

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AMGeneral assigned a different number to each humvee built. If a humvee gets a different data plate put on, then another humvee lost it's number, theoretically. Or folks just make them up.
i saw TACOM do this with trailers. Several came back from down range, with no data plates. Everyone and his dog tried every trick in the book. They could not ID the two trailers. So they just ordered new data plates and made up a number. No one disputed the fact that "someone" stole the trailers. But when several hundred vehicles and trailers were rail headed and trucked into a huge parking lot, who you going to blame. I looked up the regulation, and that was the guidance given. New plate, make up a number, tell TACOM and that how it goes if you have exhausted all means of trying to ID equipment.
 

Gunzy

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Can't say on HMMWVs but my HEMTT uses a standard 17 digit number and when it went back to Oshkosh in 2001 for a rebuild/reset program they changed the 10th digit (Year of manufacture) from an "H"-1987 to a "1"-2001 to reflect the truck as "NEW" and with a 12/12 warranty from Oshkosh. There is still a plate on the door that shows original build date in 1987 and that allowed me to register it as a 1987 which gets me into vintage plates in Utah.
 

Retiredwarhorses

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For all intents, the controlled item is the dataplate....when these trucks are at MMA or Red river being gone through, the dataplates are most like removed and stuck back on to what ever truck.
i just bought an M998 that has a brand new A2 body on it, the truck is a 1987 and the dataplate is new...this from GP.
 
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