EZpass help please

[prstlk]

We are heading up the east coast and are getting into toll road territory. We north-westerner's don't use these things much so a little advise and help would be appreciated.

It is our understanding that you only receive the discounts from the state that you purchased the EZpass transponder from and not any of the other states that use it in. They will charge you the same rate as if you were going through the toll booth. Is this true?

We were told that if we do not use our EZpass 3 times per month then we would be charged $1.50 per month service fee- this is if we purchased it in Maryland. We don't plan on using it more than once or twice in Maryland. Is this the same in all of the states that use it?

Our route will be taking us up the east coast into Maine. When going back south we will be on the interior side of these states where the toll roads are less frequent.
Do they work for motor homes? We also noticed that the bay bridge toll booth (outside of Annapolis MD) for EZpass lanes state nothing over 5 tons GVW. We would have to then go through the regular lanes anyway.

We ran into a toll road situation in Houston while driving our tow vehicle. By the time we went through all of the toll booths to get the 22 miles to our destination it cost is nearly $15.00! Not really wanting to do that again.

Hopefully there's someone out there who has taken this route and can give us some advise.

[Jarlaxle]

Executive wrote:
Program your GPS to avoid toll roads and bridges. Problem solved..Unless, of course you're in a hurry, then you have to pay for that privilege....Dennis

Not always possible. Off the top of my head, I have never figured how to get on and off Long Island or cross the Hudson south of Albany without paying a toll. 😞

[Jarlaxle]

jplante4 wrote:
Also, all electronic toll systems are supposed to be compatible by October this year, so it shouldn't matter what pass you buy. I know SunPass holders in FL have had to trade in old transponders for the new compatible ones. Of course, as with everything else in government, the deadline will slip.

Wasn't SunPass supposed to be compatible with the rest of the country by about 2010?

[Jarlaxle]

rk911 wrote:

prstlk wrote:
..It is our understanding that you only receive the discounts from the state that you purchased the EZpass transponder from and not any of the other states that use it in. They will charge you the same rate as if you were going through the toll booth. Is this true?

not true. EZ pass/I-Pass is accepted and treated equally in all participating states

No, that's wrong. Off the top of my head, anyone with a RI EZ Pass pays 85 cents to cross the Newport Bridge. All out of state transponders pay $4!

I recall that toll discounts in NH only apply to a NH transponder.

[ferndaleflyer]

I guess someone didn't like my post on this subject. Its gone....Oops wrong thread

[Executive45]

hilldude wrote:

Executive wrote:
Program your GPS to avoid toll roads and bridges. Problem solved..Unless, of course you're in a hurry, then you have to pay for that privilege....Dennis

If going through WV dont try to bypass the turnpike unless you have lots of time.It is very crooked,but scenic.

HaHa... So TRUE!...We left Charleston WV headed for Galax, Virginia and took U.S. Hwy 60 East! It was a beautiful ride but with a 45' coach plus the toad it made it interesting is some spots, especially between Gauley Bridge and Ansted. Chimney corner was a hoot! When we hit Hwy 19, we opted to jog over to Interstate 64 and I didn't care what the toll was. :B:B:B.....Dennis

[hilldude]

Executive wrote:
Program your GPS to avoid toll roads and bridges. Problem solved..Unless, of course you're in a hurry, then you have to pay for that privilege....Dennis

If going through WV dont try to bypass the turnpike unless you have lots of time.It is very crooked,but scenic.

[jake2250]

soren wrote:

az99 wrote:
A word of advice. Stay off the Pa. Turnpike if you have anything more than a car. It is BIG BIG BIG $$$ anywhere on it with a MH. And most of the road is either in construction with 40MPH speed limit or is so rough you will want them to pay you.

Gee, I spend a lot of time on the 476 portion, the road is fast, with a 70MPH post and nobody seems to care if you are ten over, not that I would drive a MH that fast. On the thirty miles I use most, there are two short sections of 55 limit for two new bridges being built, other than that it's in great shape. I wholeheartedly agree about the insane cost, and the fact that they want you to have a separate transponder for any six wheeled motorhome over 14K LBS.

I believe they are referring to 76, 476 (the blue route) is fast!! Move or get out of the way fast!!
76 (Pa Turnpike) is very very unfriendly to large vehicles, Last time I was hauling thru there they charged by axle, and on some trucks I have driven that could be by 5 (not including the steer). Also the farther you travel from the point you entered it can get very expensive! Thank goodness my company reimburses for tolls!

476 from Chester to Allentown is good but like you said fast!

[rk911]

Sooboy wrote:
Hereis a link to a quick comparison between the States. Based on this, we went for the NH pas last year. Haven't used it on the MH yet, but I have with the car on the drive from Toronto to Myrtle Beach last December.

link doesn't seem to work.

[Sooboy]

Here is a link to a quick comparison between the States. Based on this, we went for the NH pas last year. Haven't used it on the MH yet, but I have with the car on the drive from Toronto to Myrtle Beach last December. Incredibly convenient!

On edit - for those of you who PM'd me asking for the full link - here it is:

http://www.dailypress.com/features/shopping/savvy-shopper-blog/dp-analysis-where-should-you-buy-an-ez-pass-20140115-story.html

[jplante4]

Executive wrote:
Program your GPS to avoid toll roads and bridges. Problem solved..Unless, of course you're in a hurry, then you have to pay for that privilege....Dennis

Good luck with that driving in the northeast. It's like trying to get around LA without using a freeway.

[Greyghost]

Another word of caution, stay off of the George Washington Bridge. We went through there last year in the MH and Towed (4 axles) $76.00. That's a lot of fuel.

Dennis, my Garmin was programmed to avoid toll roads and it took us straight to the bridge.

[Bruce_Brown]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
NY Thruway issued E-ZPass accounts have no fees for accounts on auto-refill. Accounts through the NY/NJ Port Authority do have a monthly fee, since they follow the NJ rules. The NY Thruway also has a motorhome plan that charges the same per axle rate as passenger cars, regardless of the motorhome size or weight. There's also a discount plan for 5'vers.

True.

We have EZ Pass in our MH and have done the Yellowstone trip with no issues, I have it in my pick-up and did a Colorado run with our TT with no issues. It was accepted at every toll road we encountered.

I have mine set on auto-replenish and it's about the only thing in NY that is seamless.

[pigman1]

Mike and Trish wrote:

rk911 wrote:

Mike and Trish wrote:
...Make sure you load up your EZPass $$ if you're going on many toll roads. You can burn thru a lot of $ in a day.

the Illinois I-pass will automatically replenish itself when the balance reaches a pre-determined level.

Sorry, I should have clarified -- I'm sure they all have that feature, but as I discovered, Delaware (at least) had a bug in their program, as of a couple of years ago. If you burned through all of your balance in a day (not hard to do on turnpikes) and went to a negative balance, the system got confused and cut you (me) off. I couldn't figure out why they didn't just automatically replenish it, but the system wasn't coded right to do that. I tried to explain that to the rep I talked to on the phone, but they didn't get it (or couldn't fix it), so I had to go online and make a manual payment. As long as you don't go negative, it adjusts for greater use, by taking bigger automatic replenishments.

This bug has been fixed. I regularly go in the red when using EZPass roads with the RV because tolls are so expensive. EZPass then notifies me that they're going to raise the level they'll replenish to so as to cover this. We'll then spend a season at home and use EZPass roads very little and they notify us they've dropped the replenish rate down to the old level. I've been though 2 cycles of this so far, but have never been cut off. We've used Delaware's passes for about 6-7 years I think, and have been pleased with their system, and, most of all, their service and charges. Other states are starting to get pricey, and are hiding costs in fees and service charges..

[Executive45]

Program your GPS to avoid toll roads and bridges. Problem solved..Unless, of course you're in a hurry, then you have to pay for that privilege....Dennis