Rear brake does not work?

[v8Toilet]

I've had my Tundra for a relatively trouble free 82,000 miles. In the last 8,000 or more miles the front brakes have warped two times already since I have replaced the rear shoes. Before that I never had a problem. I had to replace the rear shoes because the e-brake froze and ruined the rear shoes because they overheated. My E-brake doesn't hold the truck very well either. Today I decided to investigate the problem and find out why this is happening. I checked everything visually and nothing seems wrong. The rear shoes I bought were Certified brake shoes $13 vs. Toyota shoes for $83. They are semi metallic shoes and the Toyota ones are organic. In theory the Semi metallic shoes should work better because they are more fade resistant than organic shoes and less prone to glazing with just as much frictional power. The Front brakes keep warping because they are doing more work now that the rear brakes don't do much at all. I can push the truck forward with the parking brake on or do a brake stand at will when before I couldn't. I'm thinking of just getting the $83 Toyota shoes but I wanted to consult TS and see if anyone here has run into this problem before I do anything else.

Are there any Ceramic compound shoes available out there for the 2001 Toyota Tundra? There is a Toyota Tundra Rear Disc Brake Conversion Kit on e-bay that cost $775; how does that work as an alternative? Any commentary would be appreciated. My only conclusion is that the cheap Certified shoes just don't have the coefficient of drag that the OEM ones have so they are ineffective. I did check the rear adjustable proportioning valve and it is working well. They are also properly adjusted. I was an ASE master certified GM technician so I have some knowledge on how to properly repair and adjust drum brakes.

Thanks

[lelandstanford]

My E-350 had a broken rear axle and a local repair shop replace it with a junk yard pulled unit.

The "new" axle ran great but the mechanic forgot to install a upper return spring and reversed the cam on parking brake actuator (arm). The truck was pulling to one side since the dragging shoes wears quicker and unable to self-adjust (PB actuator not moving shoes).

It took me two weekends to figure this out. Naturally, some high decibel complaint was needed to resolve the problem.

[mitchr]

Wheelers has Kevlar brake shoes for the Tundra.