97 F150 XLT
4WD
5.4L Triton
Rear ABS only
Front Disk
Rear Drums

Had crappy brakes ever since ive owned it. Tried everything. Basically decided they just suck. Anyways...
Rear passenger drum is making a noise as i drive. As soon as i apply brake it stops. I am about to pull the wheels and see how worn everything is and what needs replaced. It has been about 3yrs since i did new shoes, hrdw kit, wheel cylinders, and had the drums turned. At the same time i replaced a caliper, master cylinder, flex brake lines, adjusted the push rod from the vacuum booster, new pads, and new rotors. Bleed the brakes about 6 times. No air ever except initial bleed. I probably did/replaced several other things i cant remember now.
I have done several things since then to try to improve braking. Nothing seems to help. Replaced the the front pads once since then. And adjusted the rear brakes.
Last time i checked my front brakes they were in great shape, too good of shape really. Im thinking my rear drums are doing most of my braking, not sure why. But i wont know for sure until i pull them off and check wear.

My main question is though when i do replace the brakes what are your opinions on PowerStop rotors and pads?
Im considering this kit:
http://www.powerstop.com/product/power-stop-z36-kit/
Or possibly those rotors with Wagner ThermoQuiet Pads.

What shoes do you recommend for the rear?

 

Good OEM type rotors and good pads - of whatever brand. I couldn't stand my HAWK HPS pads; thought they were garbage - but others like them. Don't get too fancy. Slotted/drilled? Waste of $ unless you're hot-lapping.

 

I tow a Dual Axle trailer with 21'6" Bass Boat all over the country including allot of back roads. And occasionally small horse trailers and dual axle trailers with other machinery around back roads. I don't tow daily but i feel like i tow allot more than your average weekend angler or hunter. And a heavier load than most with a half ton pickup. I want to just buy a 3/4 or 1 ton 7.3L but im trying to wait a bit longer.

 

Does anyone else have any opinions ?

 

Centric blanks and EBC green stuff.

I've replaced my rotors with Centric blanks...reasonably priced and work fine. In the past I used Napa semi-metallic pads, which had great bite, but wore down my rotors, hence the need to replace them. When I did, I tried the Posi-Centric thermo quiets, and did not like the lack of bite when stopping...when it was time to replace the rear pads, I switched to EBC green stuff, and was so impressed with the rears, I replaced the fronts with them, even before it's time.

Original rotors:

 

As to your original situation, brakes sucking, I presume you say since dayone means you bought new.
I would start with doing a brake bleed per Ford. Then a visual inspection of everything.
I presume you have checked for straight line pull of brakes. Do braking on some dirt and a hard surface with varying degrees to see if braking is properly proportioned between front and rear.
Your claim of rear wearing out first leads toward a proportioning valve issue. That is I don't know if one actually exists as a separate item or is built into the master cylinder or ABS valving.

But you would want that fixed for sure. I had bought a late 70's Mercury Grand Marquis used. I shortly discovered it had a problem and on three occasions it swung the back around with what could have been fatal but by luck missed all obstacles. After two shops, a brake job in one of them, I decided it needed to go. A year or so later I saw the problem in a Chilton's picture. It still had the factory brake bleed device installed to the proportioning valve. And the body work to the right rear quarter panel indicated the original owner had same issue.
With or without ABS, you should not be locking rear brakes to the point of skidding the rear end.

 

I did not purchase the truck new. I purchased it with 56K on it. It now has over 160K.
I have had the truck for around 10yrs.
I have googled allot trying to see if there is a specific bleed procedure ford recommends for this specific truck but i cant seem to find one.
I use a large jar of peanut butter with a small hole in top. Run gas line from bleeder valve into the jar. Starting at the furthest tire from the master cylinder i have someone pump brake petal till hard. I open the valve and shut it as soon as pedal hits floor and repeat until i see no bubbles coming into the fluid in the jar.

 

If you're bias is off, then that could certainly lead to poor braking performance. If it's not that, some more aggressive pads would be a good option. Especially with how regularly you tow. EBC Green Stuff and the Hawk Truck pads will be great options with the Centric blanks.

When you're inspecting the rears, check the condition of the front rotors too. If they have blueing, or only wear on one side it may just be that the calipers need to be replaced. That is something we have seen a number of times on trucks that get used in dirty environments when the hardware or piston gets gummed up with dirt and grime.