ROGUE towies have come under fire for allegedly ripping off stranded caravanners in remote areas of Australia.

One caravanner whose 4WD broke down on the Oodnadatta Track in outback South Australia claimed he was forced to cough up nearly $1000 to have it transported 102km on a breakdown trailer.

He said the original quote for recovering the Nissan, which had developed a major engine fault, was between $500 and $600.

He has now urged travellers to get a written quote before agreeing to a tow.

Another caravanner who was travelling with the stranded adventurer alleged the towie "took advantage of a traveller in trouble", adding: "We are not complaining about the quote of the tow as we know remote recovery can be expensive.

"The fact is that he just decided to charge a heap more than he quoted because this guy was stranded and there was no one else to do it."

A contributor to the online ExploreOz forum sympathised, saying: "Pretty tough treatment, I reckon."

He added: "I am not able to add to the rights and wrongs etc. But a hearty thank-you for the warning ... I will tuck it away in case I have a need in the future."

And contributor Fred Smiith said he had lived in the outback all his life and was aware of what could happen to stranded travellers.

"All – and I mean ALL – caravanners are seen as easy targets," he wrote.

"Yes it is hard to hear, but it is the truth. Some operators have a heart and some want to retire to the million-dollar view somewhere. Get used to it."

Forum member 'Berny' admitted he worried about what would happen in the event of a breakdown.

"This story just confirms our fears that the outback is not a friendly place to be for caravanning nomads, particularly for those not familiar with the way things are done out there," he said.

Meanwhile, a Queensland grey nomad told Caravanning News he had once been charged $350 for a 10km recovery when his LandCruiser developed problems on a remote road in New South Wales.

"There's no doubt some unscrupulous breakdown companies make as much as they can out of stranded drivers ... after all, they do have a captive market," he said.

"The only thing you can do is make sure your tow vehicle is always in tip-top condition and pray it never breaks down when you're in a remote area."