better truck brakes?

Grit dog wrote:
No, tow haul just changes the trans shift points, and importantly lets it hang in a lower gear longer both up and downhill. Diesels have poor compression braking. An exhaust brake restores this and then some.
Back to your brakes. If you had a frozen front caliper then it's likely your rear brakes could be froze up. My 07 has been driven almost daily since new and in less salt than MA and it rusted out the rear pad backer shims and was about to mess up the calipers.
You're on the right track, get all the brakes checked out, including the trailer. I would expect to be wrecking front rotors if the other 3 axles aren't doing their job 100 percent when you hit the brakes with a load like that.
You're also on the right track. Lack of use and moisture/corrosion is the enemy of vehicles and it's greatly exaggerated in older vehicles. And brake systems are one part you can't really help along with lubricants or corrosion inhibitors like other systems.

Sorry but you are misinformed as to how Tow/Haul works on Fords. On Fords Tow/Haul does more then just vary shift points. There is a braking feature (somewhat like an exhaust brake) built into the transmission. I was towing a pretty heavy trailer load down the Grapevine in CA (VERY steep downhill) and in Tow/Haul once I hit my brakes the truck proceeded to continue to slow down even after I let off the brakes. Without touching the brakes again the truck continued to slow down until when it got below 55mph I finally had to give it gas as I was becoming a hazard. Since I wasn't on my brakes, this also happened without the aid of the trailer's brakes.