Drum brakes rusted on?

[itchyfeet]

Its happened before on the van, because of rear wheel drive on gravel I had to jack up and use a wheel brace to free it.

Happened on the polo tonight after being parked a week at the airport but took a while to free it off.
I can sieze after 8 hours at work but usually frees as you pull away with a clunk.

Question is why does this happen and how can I stop it?
Always when its wet usually park with handbrake off but not possible on.a slope.

[jrt]

We have it happen at work on the plant trailers (4 wheels) if they are laid up for a few days (usually in the Winter months) with the handbrake on. I always make sure the brake is left off and chocked so i don't have to spend half an hour driving up and down the yard slamming the brakes on and reversing to try and release them. It's not happened on the camper but when i don't use my car for a week or so they are also prone to give a bit of a clunk when i pull away.
David

[Oldiebut goodie]

When I have had it happen in the past the easiest way to free it was to use reverse as this pushes the shoes the other way which seemed to help.

[itchyfeet]

When I have had it happen in the past the easiest way to free it was to use reverse as this pushes the shoes the other way which seemed to help.

Thats how I got the polo going but only after dragging it onto tarmack then removing a wheel and whacking the drum with the breaker bar.

No use on a T25 it won't drive on anything like gravel or grass the other wheel just spinns, not sure if it would drive on tarmack.

[CovKid]

Moisture in the air creates a layer of rust inside drum and that causes shoes to lock solid with handbrake left on. Your only other option is to chock wheels but on a steep slope, even that may not be't possible. Leaving it in gear is another option.

[what2do]

I leave mine in gear most of the time with the wheels pointing towards the kerb. Having a gravel drive, I quickly learned not to leave the van for a weekend with the handbrake on.

[clift_d]

The handbrake sticks sometimes on our van due to the cable getting caught. There's a plastic sleeve where the exposed handbrake cable passes through the chassis into the guide tube to the rear axle. Over time the exposed cable has worn a groove into this plastic sleeve which can hold on to the cable when we let the handbrake off. Reaching under the van to give the cable a quick tug to the side is usually enough to free it and let the brake release. Might be worth a look for something similar?