I put this under class A as I believe those driving Motorhomes ( especially longer heavier w/tag axles) would be paying much higher tolls than fifth wheels or travel trailers, and perhaps more likely to choose other roads than turnpikes and toll roads. We are planning a trip in June to Washington D.C. If we were to take the Ohio turnpike picking it up just out of Michigan to Pennsylvania and picking up the Penn-pike from the Ohio till it almost ends, would be over $400 round trip. I about choked when I saw that. It was the shortest and most convienent. But I can't see paying $400 to drive the toll road when other choices are available. That would almost pay for our gas there and back. Others mentioned in a different post, options that aren't that much out of the way but would save hundreds of dollars. We have planned a alternate route thanks to those in this forum. The Ohio turnpike wasn't bad, but Pennsylvania was just nuts in tolls traversing the state IMHO. Do those of you doing a lot of traveling avoid toll roads if you would be on them for a long period of time? Are all toll roads as costly as the Pennsylvania turn-pike?

I avoid the Pennsylvania Turnpike whenever possible. It's one of the most expensive toll roads in the US.The Turnpike Commission is required to pay the Pennsylvania Dept of Transportation 450 million annually. I believe it will drop to 'only' 50 million annually in 2023.When I travel west from Harrisburg PA I take I-81 south to I-70 & I-68 west to Morgantown WV. Then I-79 north to I-70 west. It bypasses the PA Turnpike.It is about 50 miles longer but, the extra fuel I use is cheaper than the tolls.Sometimes it's more practical or quicker to take the Turnpike. But there are usually better options than the PA Turnpike

et2 wrote:I put this under class A as I believe those driving Motorhomes ( especially longer heavier w/tag axles) would be paying much higher tolls than fifth wheels or travel trailers, and perhaps more likely to choose other roads than turnpikes and toll roads. We are planning a trip in June to Washington D.C. If we were to take the Ohio turnpike picking it up just out of Michigan to Pennsylvania and picking up the Penn-pike from the Ohio till it almost ends, would be over $400 round trip. I about choked when I saw that. It was the shortest and most convienent. But I can't see paying $400 to drive the toll road when other choices are available. That would almost pay for our gas there and back. Others mentioned in a different post, options that aren't that much out of the way but would save hundreds of dollars. We have planned a alternate route thanks to those in this forum. The Ohio turnpike wasn't bad, but Pennsylvania was just nuts in tolls traversing the state IMHO. Do those of you doing a lot of traveling avoid toll roads if you would be on them for a long period of time? Are all toll roads as costly as the Pennsylvania turn-pike?I did the same calculations and assumed a 4-axle high vehicle. Ohio tolls end to end came to $44.50 (one way) but the PA turnpike was $150+ end to end (again, one way). IMO ohio is reasonable but PA is way, way too much. we're willing to pay tolls as state or US highways can take you too far out of the way or vastly increase your time (assuming time is a factor and/or you're going point-to-point). you might want to consider getting an EZ Pass. that will save significant $. doesn't matter from which state you get the device so shop around. the Illinois I-Pass is also accepted in all of the EZ Pass states. there is no user fee for the I-Pass although you'll need to make a small ($20 or $40...can't recall which) initial deposit and set up automatic replenishments from a bank account. anything left in the account when you close the account is refunded. we used our I-Pass in our MH all up and down the east coast in EZ Pass states with a problem.

The fees calculated driving thru Ohio end to end are $50. I have no problem with that. To drive from the west end of the Penn-pike to exit 326 ( one way) is 50% more ( with easy pass) to 70% more ( cash). Neither cash or easy pass seem acceptable to me. I will be taking alternate routes. So the increases every year are to maintain the turn-pike? What happens when the other interstates get more traffic due to people taking them to avoid the fees. I'd assume the maintenance on them would go up as well, but it's free ( in comparison to the turn-pike). Who pay's for those? Tax payers.

et2 wrote:The fees calculated driving thru Ohio end to end are $50. I have no problem with that. To drive from the west end of the Penn-pike to exit 326 ( one way) is 50 percent more ( with easy pass) to 70 percent more ( cash).Can you break out the costs?If Ohio one-way is $50, and the one-way on PA is 70 percent more, that would be $85 (50 x 1.70 = 85). That would make the full one-way there cost $135 and the full return trip $265 (or almost double the trip out) using your $400 round trip amount.Or is it that Ohio is $50 one way and PA is $150 one way? That would make it $200 total each way.

I admit that it has been several years since I last used the PA turnpike but I was upset because the tolls that I was paying apparently did not go for road maintenance. The highway was filled with potholes and it was not a comfortable ride at all. I did just see an article where the PA turnpike tolls will go up on Jan. 6th.

Toll avoidance | Good Sam Community

valhalla360
Navigator
Jan 03, 2019
Bruce Brown wrote:
True story;

A few years ago some radio station was interviewing the head of the NYS Thruway Authority (un-elected, un-accountable people, BTW) and the high cost of tolls was being discussed. Some state (can't remember which one) had lowered rates which resulted in increased traffic and a major increase in revenue.

The guy from NY thought that was a nice idea, but...

this is a paraphrase but darn close to word for word;

"Because our rates are so high usage is down and revenue has suffered. Usage and revenue are down so much actually that we have no choice but to raise the rates".

Duh, we know what the problem is and our solution is to double up on the problem.

No wonder threads like this keep coming up.

Likely it's cooked into the legislation (toll roads are almost exclusively allowed by legislation) that they have to generate a certain amount and the formula is likely based on the prior years traffic volumes.

50-100yrs ago when the legislation was set up, they likely never considered the modern economics of the operation but it's a tough sell to get the current legislature to change the law.

Really more of a catch-22 than insanity.
oldave
Explorer
Jan 03, 2019
Bruce Brown wrote:
True story;

A few years ago some radio station was interviewing the head of the NYS Thruway Authority (un-elected, un-accountable people, BTW) and the high cost of tolls was being discussed. Some state (can't remember which one) had lowered rates which resulted in increased traffic and a major increase in revenue.

The guy from NY thought that was a nice idea, but...

this is a paraphrase but darn close to word for word;

"Because our rates are so high usage is down and revenue has suffered. Usage and revenue are down so much actually that we have no choice but to raise the rates".

Duh, we know what the problem is and our solution is to double up on the problem.

No wonder threads like this keep coming up.

That's pretty close to the definition of insanity or

Like the guy that says we cut it off twice and it's still to short
Bruce_Brown
Moderator
Jan 02, 2019
True story;

A few years ago some radio station was interviewing the head of the NYS Thruway Authority (un-elected, un-accountable people, BTW) and the high cost of tolls was being discussed. Some state (can't remember which one) had lowered rates which resulted in increased traffic and a major increase in revenue.

The guy from NY thought that was a nice idea, but...

this is a paraphrase but darn close to word for word;

"Because our rates are so high usage is down and revenue has suffered. Usage and revenue are down so much actually that we have no choice but to raise the rates".

Duh, we know what the problem is and our solution is to double up on the problem.

No wonder threads like this keep coming up.
steveh27
Explorer
Jan 02, 2019
About 10 years ago OH raised their rates but also changed the way they calculate which class a vehicle is in. It used to be by weight, but now is on a number of things including height. My 20" Class B camper van was barely under the weight limit before and I paid passenger car fees. Now it's over the 7 1/2' height limit and it's in class 2, much higher fees. I drive from MI to Pittsburgh 3 times a year and figured out a way to avoid most of the OH TP. My route is good, takes about the same time, gets me cheaper gas and better scenery. You should try it. I am figuring out an alternate route going there to avoid the high PA toll for the 1st 28 miles I travel. My OH route follows:

75S to 280S (N Toledo)

To 420S

To East 20

Drive 50.2 miles
To 13/250 SE (SE of Norwalk, OH)

Drive 16.5 miles
To 224E . There’s a traffic light at the 250 & 224 intersection. This is the ‘worst’ of the roads.

Drive 28.7 miles
To 76E

Drive About 61 miles
To Mile 218 Entrance to Ohio Turnpike
valhalla360
Navigator
Jan 02, 2019
rgatijnet1 wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:
That's one thing I wish the GPS travel apps did is show you comparison of toll vs time saved (without having to turn it on and off and manually calculate the difference)

5 min on a 3hr drive...I'll avoid the tolls.

1 hr on a 3hr drive, I'll happily pay an extra $10.

Most stand alone GPS units allow you to do this very easily. All you do is change the settings from "avoid toll roads" to "fastest route". Then it will give you the mileage and "estimated" time of arrival. The arrival time is based on the speed limits which are sometimes not accurate for an RV but it still only takes a couple of seconds to find out the difference between taking the toll road and avoiding it.

You missed my point...I don't want to have to keep turning the settings back and forth manually to figure it out.

Seems like a common consideration to look at cost vs time saved...should be an automated feature.
down_home
Explorer II
Jan 02, 2019
We went from Tn to Plymouth Rock in Mass and back over to Michigan this October.
We left the Mh at home. Even so we have toll slips of about 200.00, wife said. We used the Pa Turnpike and 90/80 too. Maybe another one or two.
We plan on going back with Mh to the Mayflower Association for some family research this year taking the Mh.
We will have to spend some time to make out a travel plan to miss all the Turnpikes and the Roads in Rhode Island that nearly bet us to death.
Mile_High
Explorer
Jan 01, 2019
et2 wrote:
So how does the E-Zpass work with a motorhome pulling a toad? You buy a pass for the motorhome only? Or motorhome combined with toad, or a pass for both?
I have to have a transponder in both. The Motorhome, otherwise it will charge me 50% more, and the toad because I use it on the toll road on a daily basis. We have stick on microchip transponders so I don't have the option of passing it back and forth between cars. My only options are to call after a trip and have them back out the charges on the toad, or disconnect and have the wife drive the toad down the toll which is a pain in the keester.
Dale_Traveling
Explorer II
Jan 01, 2019
et2 wrote:
So how does the E-Zpass work with a motorhome pulling a toad? You buy a pass for the motorhome only? Or motorhome combined with toad, or a pass for both?

Single transponder in the coach only. Sensors in the lane will count axles and determine the toll rate accordingly.

If you have a transponder in the toad you will be charge for it in addition to the axle count charge for the coach. My transponders are attached with velcro so easy to remove and wrap in aluminum foil to prevent inadvertent detection.
et2
Explorer
Jan 01, 2019
So how does the E-Zpass work with a motorhome pulling a toad? You buy a pass for the motorhome only? Or motorhome combined with toad, or a pass for both?
Mile_High
Explorer
Dec 31, 2018
Denver just goes by Axle - but here is the catch - my toad has an EZ pass and so does the MH. The toll is the 2 axles of the first vehicle, then each axle is a full vehicle toll after that. My MH=1, tag=1, Jeep=2, so I get hit for a total of toll X 4, then the EZ pass for the Jeep takes a hit making it 5.

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