Shared driving

A mate of mine and his wife are caravanning across Oz from Sydney to Steep Point in West Oz via the Gunbarrel. They have a nice little outfit. A diesel Land Rover Discovery towing a 15 foot Trakmaster pop top van. On the second day of their journey near Wilcania, Graham wanted a break in the driving. Five minutes after taking over the wheel near disaster. Van and vehicle began to sway violently. Graham reached over to struggle with the wheel and brought the vehicle and van under control. This was Grahams wife first serious drive of the unit. It was a close call. The vans tyres were scuffed right up to the wheel rims. Graham attributed the incident to excessive speed and inexperience of his wife driving with the van in tow. We are keeping in touch via HF radio. But a thought occurred to me, what if the ariel bcomes damaged in a collision. No communication. Sat phone might be handy. Coincidentally i heard a similar story on the same day while in the queue at the gates of the Sydney van show. Couple next to us witnessed an accident but not with a happy ending. Husband was unable to drive because of a shoulder injury, handed the keys to his wife who had NEVER driven with the van in tow. A few kms down the road van and vehicle were write offs. Apparently both vehicles rolled several times. The only thing remaining of the van was the chassis. Thankfully injuries were minor. This demonstrates the importance of having two competent drivers. I know of a couple who live on the road with a large van and the wife is the primary driver. In difficult situation the wife takes the wheel and husband sits qietly in the drivers seat. On a brighter note. I was at the show checking out off road vans for Collyn. Had a good look at Bushtrakers. I must say these were the pick of the off roaders. We (wife) and i loved the huge dinning table and large lounges. Table is big enough to be used as work station, office, or serve a multicourse feast. A gas heater was warming one of the vans - what a great unit. I would have dearly loved to bounce on the raised bed, another great idea. Imagine the storage space for stretched out remote camping. Vidas