How to Decode a 1948 to 1953 Dodge Truck Body Tag
 

In the drivers side upper corner of the firewall of most 1948-53 Dodge trucks, is the body tag. This tag can tell you something about the type of truck you have. It can also be compared to other body tags with the same first four digits to give an idea of when a truck was made. The first four digits break down as follows.

47 The Year that cab was designed, or possibly the year that cab design was ordered. Every time something was changed in the cab the first two digits changed. 47 = 1947, 49 = 1949 and 51 = 1951.
12 The style of cab it is, 12 is the most common cab, it is the style used in pickups, stakes, etc.
-128743 Sequential number for that cab style, all cabs got numbered in order by style.
 
Below is a list of the first four digits of the body tag and what they stand for. This list is from the parts books, sometimes real world trucks have different numbers. If the numbers on a truck do not match this list it does not mean something has been changed for sure, as Dodge did not always follow the system from the parts book
4710 Flat Face Cowl 1948-49 B-1 B, C, D, F, H, R, T, V
4750 Flat Face Cowl 1948-49 B-1 FM, HM, JM
4720 Windshield Cowl 1948-49 B-1 B, C, D, F, H, R, T, V
4760 Windshield Cowl 1948-49 B-1 FM, HM, JM
4712 Cab 1948-49 B-1 B, C, D, F, H, R, T, V
4722 Cab 1948-49 B-1 R, T, V
4732 Cab 1948-49 B-1 FM, HM, JM
4713 Panel 1948-49 B-1 B
4733 Route Van 1948-50 B-1-DU, B-1-EU 102" Wheel Base
4743 Route Van 1948-50 B-1-DU, B-1-EU 117" Wheel Base
4753 Route Van 1948-50 B-1-EU 142" Wheel Base
4910 Flat Face Cowl 1949-50 B-1 and B-2 B, C, D, F, H, R, T, V
4950 Flat Face Cowl 1949-50 B-1 and B-2 FM, HM, JM
4920 Windshield Cowl 1949-50 B-1 and B-2 B, C, D, F, H, R, T, V
4960 Windshield Cowl 1949-50 B-1 and B-2 FM, HM, JM
4912 Cab 1949-50 B-1 and B-2 B, C, D, F, H, R, T, V
4922 Cab 1949-50 B-1 and B-2 R, T, V
4932 Cab 1949-50 B-1 and B-2 FM, HM, JM
4913 Panel 1949-50 B-1 and B-2 B
5110 Flat Face Cowl 1951-53 B-3 and B-4 B, C, D, F, H, R, T, V
5150 Flat Face Cowl 1951-53 B-3 and B-4 FM, HM, JM
5120 Windshield Cowl 1951-53 B-3 and B-4 B, C, D, F, H, R, T, V
5160 Windshield Cowl 1951-53 B-3 and B-4 FM, HM, JM
5112 Cab 1951-53 B-3 and B-4 B, C, D, F, H, R, T, V
5122 Cab 1951-53 B-3 and B-4 R, T, V
5132 Cab 1951-53 B-3 and B-4 FM, HM, JM
5113 Panel 1951-53 B-3 and B-4 B
 
I hope to update this page from time to time as more info becomes available, and feedback is given about other information that would be good to include on this page.