I've noticed for a while now that every three weeks to a month I have to click up the rear brakes so they make contact with the drum when I brake.

Removed the rear drum and it is right on the edge of within spec; granted I used a tape measure to measure it. Am I not adjusting them correctly, are my drums simply worn, or is this normal and I'm putting too much thought into it?

I have new springs, new cylinders, new pads, etc; basically rebuilt except for the drums.

To adjust them, I've been driving backwards at 10-15 MPH while pumping the brakes. After about 10 pumps I find they work again.

I have no problem adjusting them once a month, but I'm thinking this isn't normal.

 

Do the shoes feel like they're dragging ?
Odd why you have to keep taking up the slack.

 

Nope, no dragging. Just after a while the front brakes wind up taking all the load. With the rear shoes sitting idle, there's a period of 'nothing' in the pedal where it's being depressed but nothing is happening, then the disks begin to work. Disks have never failed me though.

I mean I don't have any issue doing this once a month, but if it's a problem I want to fix it.

 

I haven't looked at mine, but rear drum brakes usually have some sort of ratcheting system as the shoe wears down, it "clicks" to take up the slack.
On my old B2200 this happened automatically _ some designs only work when you put the park brake on.
Do you use your park brake ?

 

Rarely. Think maybe that if I set it when I park that it'll take up the slack?

 

The manual says that the rear shoes should adjust them selves automatically _ Chapter 9-2, under General Information.
Try using your park brake on a regular basis and see if that works, if it doesn't, I would say that mechanism is either faulty, not assembled correctly, or even missing perhaps.

Know that if the park brake hasn't been used for a while, that it may stick "on".

EDIT:
Upon thinking about this further, you should not have to continually adjust the slack in the shoes every month.
You should not be able to turn the adjusting screw backwards to lessen off the shoes, if you can, then this is not right.
There is a piece of metal to keep the adjusting screw from going backwards.
I think this is missing and the shoes keep losing their adjustment.

 

Well, when my father and I pretty much rebuilt them, we got new adjuster kits, new springs, new shoes, new cylinders, etc for each side.

 

I'll just say it's not normal to have to keep adjusting them each month, the bit in the photo is either missing or not installed correctly.
Note that the photo may not match exactly, but there will/should be something similar that rides up against the adjusting teeth.

 

I'll take a look after a while. Just got done shopping so my brakes are going to be warm.

 

the slack adjuster needs to be greased with high temperature caliper grease NOT anti-seize

the main rear parking adjustment is on the parking brake pedal assemble inside the cab

the adjusting nut tightens both cables at the same time

 

Pulled both drums, and sure enough, the metal piece to which the adjuster ratchets against; just eaten up and floppy. I was able to adjust the brakes manually though, and for now that's good enough for me. I'll replace 'em at the same time as my drums, sometime next spring.

Thanks, guys!

EDIT: Note, I was adjusting them only by reversing while braking; not actually getting under there and adjusting them with the adjuster tool.