We have a 2006 Fiat Ducato 2.8 JTD Autotrail Mohican on an Alko chassis, the hand brake isn't too good and I wondered if the shoes were self adjusting or not. If yheynare adjustable is it through the backplate or drum or do the drums have to come off.

Hi
If it is fitted with rear disc brakes the adjustment is through a hole in the "hat" - or disc centre, align the hole with the adjuster when the wheel has been removed. The handbrake is not self adjusting on Disc brake models & it is the "drum in hat type" & only works as a hand brake.
On rear drum equiped vehicles as the rear service brakes would be self adjusting & would self adjust when the brakes are applied when reversing as per most drum type brakes . You will probably find that if your handbrake is not working properly it is because of cable stretch &/or incorrect linkage adjustment.
See previous Post on adjustment procedures -
https://www.fiatforum.com/ducato/167638-ducato-rear-brakes-binding.html
& ......... How do you adjust a Ducato Handbrake?
https://www.fiatforum.com/ducato/226607-how-do-you-adjust-ducato-handbrake.html
You could also download the Ducato 244 eLearn WSM rar file from the downloads section & burn the ISO contained in the RAR file to CD which has the complete procedure.
Hope that helps
Cheers

They are discs all round on my tag axle Burstner and I am surprised they are not on yours.

The drum type should be straightforward to adjust (as previously mentioned).

The linkage system for the handbrake on an AlKo chassis is basically a copy of the setup on a 2nd Century Roman baggage cart. They are a b*gger to set up when you have the tag axle variant.

Hi maingate
Not sure which post you are referring to, but our Ducato is also on an AL-KO chassis & has discs all round. I haven't had to adjust the shoes (shouldn't wear unless you drive it with the handbrake on) but have done the linkages & cables due to cable stretch over time. Doing the adjustments in the correct sequence & making sure the lever angles are right for efficient operation of the handbrake is important.
Cheers

Hi freespirit, I bought the van from a dealer and it came with 12 months MOT. When it was due its next MOT test, it failed on the handbrake. As we were off to Bonny Scotland as soon as it had passed, I let the garage who do the servicing set up the handbrake.

They had a hell of a job as it had never worked properly, the previous MOT tester had not been strict enough. Each rear wheel eventually just barely complied to the minimum standard efficiency. Luckily, the wheels tend to lock before they reach the minimum and that is a pass according to UK MOT testing. Since then, I have had no more handbrake problems.

My van is 8.2 metres long and in my view (I may be wrong), the overall length of cable etc. and the design can give problems when it stretches and gets sprayed with salt and grit in the UK winter.