Drums locked on Highway

[C-Moore502]

So on my way home from helping some family friends renovating their home I got onto the highway and once i got into 4th gear (SM465) the truck was pushing to do 50mph. After a few moments I noticed some white smoke trailing my truck, after pulling over I come to see it all coming from my rear drum brakes. Partly relieved finding it wasn't the engine quitting on me I sat and waited about h 30 minutes for them to cool off, then I gave the housings a little whack with a hammer to release the pads and luckily they did just that. The rest of the way home I was very careful with the brake pedal not to push it too hard or to fast, but no problems all the way home. I haven't had a chance to pull them apart yet but I was hoping to have a few things to look for. The truck is pretty old and it may just be rust. Thanks for the ideas and merry Christmas to everyone.

[VileZambonie]

Lots of things can cause it, parking brake sticking, faulty brake hose, mechanical problems, bent backing plates, etc etc.... pull em apart and take pix.

[Lt.Del]

my rear brakes on my 65 mustang convertible did that one time.  I was doing about 60mph and when the rear wheels locked up, i nearly slid that classic into the guardrail with a long black mark behind me.  I thought the rear differential locked up.  Nope.  The parking brake cable somehow wrapped around the driveshaft, when it turned a time or two it pulled the parking brake cable applying the drum brakes.
Easy cheap fix.  I was relieved.

[thirsty]

That happened to me with my 86' 1/2 ton once. My problem was "ME" though. I worked a 12hr night shift then stayed up all day. We where bucking up firewood for the garage about 10-12 miles away, when we headed down the road I said "jeeshh.. that's more weight than I thought we had. My truck hasta grunt some"
Off we went anyways. We pulled into the pizza shop when we got into town, I jumped out of the truck and could smell the brakes. People are starting to look at the truck cause it stunk, then they got to watch the owner go back, open up the door and pull the brake release. It seemed like a lot lighter load for the remaining 1/2 mile of the trip.

Cost of the wood = Free
Damage to truck = Brakes + axle seal $30
Being the village idiot for a day = PRICELESS