Your Cargo 0813 would have an air over hydraulic braking system.
What you describe sounds like the Parking Brake Actuator and the Quick Release Valve which is mounted on it. In an air/ hydraulic system all of the wheel cylinders are actuated by hydraulic pressure. There will be no air involved at the rear brakes - for the service braking system that is. However the parking brake is applied by a large spring and it requires air pressure to release the brake - i.e. when you move the parking brake (hand brake) lever forward in the cab, air pressure is sent to the actuator which operates the brakes via mechanical linkages. The Parking Brake Actuator looks like an inverted pudding bowl sitting on top of a soup bowl with a clamp around the middle! It's attached to the chassis rail above the rear axle. The Quick Release Valve which is mounted on the PBA could be defective or you might need to tighten some connections. Be warned: do not attempt to dismantle the actuator chamber without the correct equipment as there is a heavily loaded spring inside and people have been seriously injured while attempting to do so without following correct procedure!
The only other valve in this area - i.e. near the rear axle - is the Load Apportioning Valve (LAV) - this regulates the amount of braking effort applied to front and rear wheels in response to vehicle weight/loading. It has a spring attached to an arm and the chassis. On an air over hydraulic system this will be a fully hydraulic valve so there is no possibility of there being air hissing from it so that suggests the Quick Release Valve!
One assumes that you have 2 pressure gauges in the cab and that both gauges take time to build up together and not just one.
Hope that helps.
JD
March 2008