EZ pass

avafluty wrote:
talk to someone to help me decide if we need one.

You don't "need" one; but it is very convenient as it allows you to avoid congestion at the toll booths. Sometimes, the tolls are taken in dedicated lanes that travel at 65mph.

As others mentioned, order it from any state. If you want to save a buck or two, NH doesn't charge sales tax.

Ivylog wrote:
There is a federal law that requires all states to honor other state passes by I think the end of this year.

Do you know where I can find information on this? I have both I-Pass and Sunpass on my truck and I want to stay ahead of this and not get charged twice.

We have the IL IPASS as we are sporadic users even though we are full timers. We tow a 5th wheel and only have to have one transponder. We are going to the Northeast in a couple of weeks and will move it to a rental car. EZ PASS does not work in FL. They have SunPass and we have one of those again for sporadic use. If you're ever around the Orlando area, many of their area highways are toll roads. We found a nifty gadget at a truck stop. It is an EZ PASS holder and you attach the EZ PASS and then the holder attaches via a suction cup to the windshield. Very handy for us since we remove it when not needed and it was only $5.

Gene&Ginny wrote:
One EZpass, use it in any state.

OP may want to check what is costs in each state. Here are 2:
New Hampshire EZpass Transponder - $8.90 (no sales tax in NH)
Maine EZpass Windshield Tag $10 + applicable sales tax

NY E-ZPass tag - Free (with $25 toll account deposit and automatic replenishment)

One EZpass, use it in any state.

OP may want to check what is costs in each state. Here are 2:
New Hampshire EZpass Transponder - $8.90 (no sales tax in NH)
Maine EZpass Windshield Tag $10 + applicable sales tax

I live in PA and got an I-Pass from Illinois for all the reasons stated.

scbwr wrote:
Use of different transponders is a bit vague when you look at the EZ Pass website for different states. Some states indicate that you don't need a separate transponder when towing and that when you go throught the toll booth, it will detect the trailer and charge accordingly. BUT, some of these states state that you should check with other states when traveling. I've used my transponder for just my truck (no additional axles) in other states and haven't had a problem. I can't say for sure whether I was charged for extra axles or not. If I were signing up for the first time, I think I would pick a state that doesn't require a separate transponder and just use it!

We have three passes, two for the coach, and one for the toad. One coach pass gets used when we're towing the toad, with the others tucked away in shielded bags, and the other coach pass is used when not towing. The reason for the two passes is because we have the NY Thruway's "Motorhome Plan" were we are charged passenger car per axle tolls for the coach. The tags are vehicle type and axle count specific. Since we rarely use the Thruway without the toad in tow, we just keep the four axle tag in place most of the time.

jfkmk wrote:

And, yes, NY state does charge a monthly fee even if you have tomatillos replenish.

The only NY issued E-ZPass accounts that have a monthly charge with automatic replenishment are those issued by the NY-NJ Port Authority. And that's because NJ requires it. Accounts issued through the NY E-ZPass site and the NY Thruway Authority do NOT have a monthly charge with automatic replenishment unless you insist on optional paper statements instead of online statements.

Here is another recommendation for the I Pass through Illinois.

They have no annual fee, just a $10 refundable deposit on each transponder and you only need to charge $40 to your account to get started.

We thought it was perfect for the sporadic use we will have. My home state wanted an annual fee, and we wouldn't even use a toll road in this state very often? Certainly not every year.

Illinois gave us a blue transponder for the MH and white transponders for the 2 cars. We use a PA toll road quite often with all three vehicles. Haven't had the MH on an EZ Pass road yet. I was told to put the Jeep transponder in foil and glove box while towing to avoid extra charges. EZ Pass will count your axles and deduct the proper toll from you account.

We picked ours up at a New Jersey rest stop a few years ago. Another poster said theirs didn't work right away, ours worked fine. I remember something about 48 hours, I think it was that by the end of 48 hours you were supposed to go online and "attach" a credit card number to the card, and record the vehicles that would be using the EZPass. A $25 minimum is maintained on the EZPass. Monthly statements are emailed to you if the pass was used in the previous month. Once you figure it out, it makes sense how they do it.

So far, our EZPass that we bought in New Jersey works in any state that uses EZPass (if that was a concern).

I don't remember how many vehicles can be listed with one pass, but it is a lot. Just put the pass in whichever vehicle you will be using - if we don't have the velcro on the windshield to hold it, we just hold the pass up against the windshield when going through tolls. So far it has worked fine.

I need to go check, but I think I registered my F250 as pulling a TT on the EZPass. There was something about trailers / campers when I was setting up my account.

Biggest "problem" with EZPass? You don't realize how much you are paying in tolls until a month later when you get a statement.