I-90 in New York

oopsie

post your rant at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/NYS-Thruway-Authority/529852543796332
or
http://www.thruway.ny.gov/about/contact/index.html

Lesson that should be learned: Plan your trips in advance, know what roads are toll roads, know what the tolls will be before you get on the road.

That little tidbit has always worked for me.

NY Thru way Authority has an arbitrary 7' Tow Vehicle delineation in its rate schedule. Also charges per axles

L vs H height

1, 2, 3, 4 or more axles

You don't mention what you were driving,

If you were driving a 2 axle MH with a 2 axle trailer, your rate would be 4H max cost.

If you were driving a Pickup pulling a 2 axle fifth wheel or TT (pickup under 7' tall), your rate would be 4L much less than 4H

I had issues with a pickup with a TC, technically the TV wa under 7'.
Check your toll receipt, it will list the rate, If wrong call the authority for a refund.

WNYBob wrote:
NY Thru way Authority has an arbitrary 7' Tow Vehicle delineation in its rate schedule. Also charges per axles

L vs H height

1, 2, 3, 4 or more axles

You don't mention what you were driving,

If you were driving a 2 axle MH with a 2 axle trailer, your rate would be 4H max cost.

If you were driving a Pickup pulling a 2 axle fifth wheel or TT (pickup under 7' tall), your rate would be 4L much less than 4H

I had issues with a pickup with a TC, technically the TV wa under 7'.
Check your toll receipt, it will list the rate, If wrong call the authority for a refund.

The OP said he was pulling a 30' 5er

In all probability the OP was charged the 4H (4 axles high vehicle (height)) rate being as the 5th wheel was at or near 13' high. This is the reason I went and got an EZ Pass because of the discount it provides.
To go 1 even further, I TOW (rear wheel on the ground front in the receiver mounted bracket) a motorcycle with out coach and because the bikes rear wheel is on the ground they (NYS) charge me the 3H rate.

4H would be the correct designation in this case. The height, according to the web site, is the highest point between the front two axles. A 13' high travel trailer would thus not be a "high" vehicle unless the tow vehicle were tall.

I think the cutoff is actually 7'6", but I may be remembering incorrectly. Their EZPass Motorhome plan (which doesn't apply to 5th wheels, unfortunately) is a nice deal in that they'll charge the short rate rather than the tall rate on the thruway, which for me at two axles works out to about half the toll.

On a per-mile basis, the NY Thruway is actually competitively priced with most of the other toll roads in the northeast. Obviously it's sometimes hard to make good overall comparisons when the vehicle class definitions vary as much as they do. (Maine charges more for dualies but not for tall vehicles; New York charges more for tall vehicles but not dualies.) Even so, it still stings a lot to go from one end of the state to the other and have to fork over the contents of one's wallet.

If you travel the NY Thruway often enough to bother, they offer an E-ZPass discount 5'ver plan and a motorhome plan. I don't know what the discounted rate for 5'vers is, but the motorhome plan charges the same per axle rate as standard passenger vehicles. For example, our 34' Class A towing our toad pays the same rate as an SUV towing a two axle utility trailer. Without the toad we pay the same rate as the SUV alone.

E-ZPass Tag Order Form
Motorhome/Passenger Vehicle Towing Combinations

Well then , you may also want to put the George Washington Bridge , and the Verrizano Bridge on the list of over priced NY stuff... You will be shocked when you get that bill

I-90 is a very good, well maintained road in all weather conditions. If your home state had to deal with, 3 months of freezing weather, and all the problems associated with it, add high traffic conditions, heavy trucks, etc it would have to charge similar tolls. Giving a tourist with a pickup truck and a 30' 5th wheel a break on tolls versus a tax paying resident would be a insult to the resident taxpayer. New York State is a beautiful state, enjoy your visits.