Coming home from fishing last week my Demco brake actuator locked up in the braking position. I was able to make it about a mile off the ramp to a gas station to find my wheels smoking.
I was able to release the brake line pressure by removing the line at the actuator. This allowed me to get home without any trailer brakes or any more friction on the discs.
I just finished tearing the actutor apart and as suspected it was pretty rusty and gummed up inside the casing. The Demco units use a nylon sleeve as a slide between the inner slide tube (part that hooks to the truck) and the outer case.
I have been trailering for many years and have never paid much attention to the actuator other than checking the brake fluid. It is now painfully obvious that I need to pay more attention to flusing and lubing this part since at some ramps it does get wet.
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The disassembly was pretty straight forward although I had to tie the back of the trailer to my neighbors truck and pull the stuck tongue out of the case with mine.
Just a heads up so maybe others won't have to go through this drill.
Below is a link to the ''exploded view'' of the actuator so you can see what all is inside the case.
http://www.demco-products.com/compon...3-bh20022.html 
Brake actuator maintenance 
