Federal safety regulators have reported a set of recalls covering a combined 384 commercial trailers and trucks from Great Dane, PACCAR and Volvo Trucks — headlined by a “do not use” warning for certain brand-new Great Dane dry van trailers whose upper coupler may have been built with the wrong bottom plate.
Source: The Trucker, reporting NHTSA recalls
Great Dane: do not use the trailer until it is repaired
Great Dane Trailers is recalling certain 2027 Champion dry van trailers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said. The upper coupler may have an incorrect bottom plate installed, and the kingpin may protrude, preventing the trailer from coupling properly. An improperly coupled trailer may detach, increasing the risk of a crash, according to the recall report NHTSA received on October 6, 2026.
Source: Overdrive
The affected trailers were manufactured beginning September 1, 2026, and are equipped with hot-dipped galvanized upper couplers where the bottom plate may have been 1/4 inch instead of 5/16 inch, Overdrive reported from the NHTSA documents. Owners are advised not to use their trailers until the repair is completed. Great Dane will inspect and replace the upper coupler assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 4. Owners may contact Great Dane's customer service at 1-877-369-3493. NHTSA's campaign number for the recall is 26V-656.
The upper coupler and kingpin are the connection point between a dry van trailer and the tractor's fifth wheel. If the kingpin protrudes because the bottom plate is the wrong thickness, the trailer may not lock on properly — and a trailer that is not properly coupled can detach in motion. That is why this recall carries a do-not-use instruction rather than a routine fix-at-next-service notice.
PACCAR: 310 Peterbilt and Kenworth trucks — sleeper bunk restraints
PACCAR is recalling certain 2027 Peterbilt 567, 579 and 589 models and Kenworth T680, T880, W900 and W990 vehicles — 310 vehicles in total. The belt restraint webbing for the sleeper bunk was not secured properly during manufacturing, The Trucker reported from the NHTSA notices. A bunk restraint that is not properly secured may fail to adequately restrain a person resting in the sleeper during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Source: The Trucker, reporting NHTSA recalls
Dealers will inspect and replace the bunk restraints as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 13. Owners may contact Kenworth customer service at 1-425-828-5888 and Peterbilt customer service at 1-940-591-4220. PACCAR's number for this recall is 26PACH.
Volvo: 5 VNL trucks — loose or missing cab bolts
Volvo Trucks North America is recalling certain 2025–2026 VNL (4) vehicles — five trucks — whose cabs may have loose or missing structural bolts, according to the NHTSA reporting. Dealers will inspect for missing structural bolts and install and/or tighten the bolts as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed December 14. Owners may contact Volvo Trucks customer service at 800-528-6586. Volvo's number for this recall is RVXX2612, and the vehicle identification numbers (VINs) involved are searchable on NHTSA.gov.
Source: The Trucker, reporting NHTSA recalls
What owners and drivers should do now
Fleet Maintenance's October 27 NHTSA recall roundup confirmed the same Great Dane instruction: owners should not use the affected Champion trailers until the upper coupler repair is completed. Drivers and fleets who have taken delivery of a 2027 Great Dane Champion dry van built from September 2026 onward, a 2027 Peterbilt or Kenworth listed above, or a 2025–2026 Volvo VNL should check their VIN on NHTSA.gov or call the manufacturer numbers in this report before assuming their equipment is clear. All three remedies are free of charge, and the owner letters are scheduled for December — but the Great Dane do-not-use instruction applies now, not when the letter arrives.
For Punjabi owner-operators and small fleets in the U.S. and Canada who have just bought new equipment, the practical cost is downtime: a brand-new dry van that cannot legally or safely be used until its coupler assembly is inspected and, if needed, replaced. Checking the VIN early — rather than discovering the recall at a scale house, a customer dock or after a coupling failure — is the step regulators and the manufacturers are asking owners to take first.
Great Dane: 1-877-369-3493, NHTSA campaign 26V-656, letters expected Dec 4. PACCAR: Kenworth 1-425-828-5888, Peterbilt 1-940-591-4220, recall 26PACH, letters expected Dec 13. Volvo Trucks: 800-528-6586, recall RVXX2612, letters expected Dec 14. VIN check: NHTSA.gov.
Sources: The Trucker and Overdrive, both reporting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recall records; Fleet Maintenance NHTSA recall roundup, October 27, 2026; AutoMotor News summary of NHTSA campaign 26V-656.