When to adjust rear brakes

I had my brakes done earlier this year with new aftermarket front rotors and calipers along with adjusting the rear brakes. The brakes have been great so far. In the past I always had the dealer do the front brakes and they usually warped/vibrated after a while, and I just dealt with it. I also relied on the dealer to recommend when to clean and adjust the rear brakes.

I want to try and keep these brakes nice and smooth and assume if I stay on top of the rear brake adjustment it will help. I regularly use the parking brake but I'm not sure that keeps the rear brakes adjusted. Is it overkill to check the rear brakes at every oil change (5000 miles)? I am wondering what a good reasonable interval is to check and adjust the rear brakes. Looking at my maintenance history I have had them adjusted after as low as 10,000 miles to as many as 75,000 miles.

 

Have you read the brake thread?
https://www.tundras.com/threads/rear-brake-adjustment-theory-and-practice.99575/

 

I readjust mine every oil change. Sometimes they are OK, sometimes they need a couple star wheel clicks. I religiously use my parking brake, always have.

 

I like to find a ramp. Go up on it. Engage the ebrake. Throw the truck in neutral and see if she holds. The steeper the better.

 

That's been a real "relearning" process for this Michigander, as we tend to not use parking brakes because they rust/seize up.
Pretty pleased with brake feel/adjustment after replacing the Bell-Cranks.

 

The parking brake should automatically adjust the rear brakes, in theory. In my experience I've needed to really crank down on the parking brake pedal to get the adjusters to work. If everything is working correctly- you should never have to manually adjust your brakes.

The effectiveness of your parking brake can also determine the effectiveness of the "automatic adjustment". If your parking brake doesn't hold well, it probably isn't adjusting your rears very well. I'd recommend testing out your parking brake. It should hold the truck in drive with your foot off the brake pedal. If not, your cable might need adjustment.