Advice on Eastern Regional Toll Transponder Ez Pass or Uni Pass?

[Galway Girl]

We're going to be on the east coast coming from west.  
We want to get a transponder for the toll roads.

A bit confused about Ez Pass and trailers.

In some articles I see you need only one transponder but have the trailer also registered.
Other articles say they just count axles.

In any case - looking for advice from folks back east with experience.

Craig

 

[Ray Kimsey]

I have the NC EZ Pass transponder and my license plate of the truck and trailer is listed with the NC toll people. In our travel through varying states they usually just count the axles. Be aware though the cost is state dependant and in states like NC the cost of 4 axles is not 2x the cost of the truck alone. It is 4x. I try to avoid NC toll roads which is not too much of a problem. It is best to look up the toll roads by state and see what classification they have for number of axles (and sometimes height, WV comes to mind)  and how it impacts the rate you will pay. WV was fairly inexpensive as tolls go.

 

[Steph and Dud B]

We have MA EZPass and have 2 transponders, one for driving the truck alone and the other for the truck/trailer combination. We switch them on the windshield as needed and keep the unused one in a foil pouch to prevent it from being detected. That's the way EZPass told us to do it.

[Galway Girl]

Thanks for the tips.

 

[Boudicca908]

On 7/23/2024 at 6:44 PM, Galway Girl said:

In any case - looking for advice from folks back east with experience.

 

I have a LeeWay (a county version in Florida) and I wish I had the SunPass....  but mostly I am replying here to say that you might want to look at the tolls you plan to use before you go, as I unwittingly used a toll road to go around Houston (rather than through it), and I just got the bill in the mail: $45 for 45 minutes was the result. 

[GraniteStaters]

We have EZ-Pass and we don't have the trailer plates registered, but the transponder covers us and we have never had a problem with being billed for the travel trailer when we have it attached.  We have used it in the Northeast for years.

[ADKCamper]

Finding clear and up-to-date guidance is a challenge.

In NY, back when they *USED TO* still have in-person toll-takers in lanes alongside the EZ-Pass only lanes, the guidance was to drive thru the manual toll lane with the EZ-Pass transponder active and tell the toll-taker how many extra axles you have. They would then adjust the EZ-Pass toll accordingly.

*NOW* that there are no in-person toll-takers, I have seen what I believe to be up-to-date guidance to just register your tow vehicle plate with EZ-Pass and the new system will automatically determine the number of axles you have and charge accordingly. The couple of times I have checked the transaction log, this seems to be working correctly.

*DISCLAIMER* EZ-Pass states other than NY may be different, and I would not make any assumptions about EZ-Pass tolls in the New York City area...

 

[Geronimo John]

On 7/25/2024 at 2:03 PM, Boudicca908 said:

I unwittingly used a toll road to go around Houston (rather than through it), and I just got the bill in the mail: $45 for 45 minutes was the result. 

Please advise what that route was.  That is my home stomping grounds but have not had Ollie down there very much.

thanks

GJ

[MobileJoy]

6 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

Please advise what that route was.

We took the Sam Houston Tollway which is a toll road around Houston. Very nice road, but the signage was unfriendly unless you have the Harris County Toll Road Authority pass. The signage says they only accept that and if you don't have one you are a "violator". I found that if you go online you can pay the toll without any issue. Sorry, I don't remember the site link, but I do remember that a search for my trailer NC plate on the site showed the violation and let me pay. For our journey the toll was $12.

[Rolind]

We use KY ez pass and found it works well and was valid for most Florida toll roads. Haven’t been out East, north of SC. We originally didn’t have the trailer plate registered, but eventually got a notice in the mail that I was six months late in paying a toll. Apparently, a Florida toll road didn’t pick up the transponder but did read the trailer plate. I called and they were kind enough to waive fees, penalties etc, but I now have my trailer plate registered with ez pass. 

[Geronimo John]

7 hours ago, MobileJoy said:

On 7/25/2024 at 2:03 PM, Boudicca908 said:

I unwittingly used a toll road to go around Houston (rather than through it), and I just got the bill in the mail: $45 for 45 minutes was the result. 

 

To go around the city on TX 8 (Sam Houston Toll Road) the fee as shown below is $42.75 for four axles.  How you did that in 45 minutes is pretty amazing frankly. 

7 hours ago, MobileJoy said:

We took the Sam Houston Tollway which is a toll road around Houston. ..... For our journey the toll was $12.

You were lucky in that you contacted them and only had to pay the TX Toll Tag rate of $12 with no "penalty" fees. Welcome to Texas. 

 

 

 

 

[jd1923]

We were brought up with the Illinois Toll Road from the early 70s through the late 90s when we moved out of state. If you didn't have coins, you had to wait in the long line with cash. When our son was young he called it "money basketball." Don't miss!

Had the Texas Tag for a decade and the Sun Pass for 4 years after that. We closed those accounts when we moved back to AZ! Have NONE today and much prefer it that way. Aren't we taxed enough?! We traveled from home to the Texas Rally traveling 90% off the Interstates, and no tollways. The backroads are better, state and county highways, while taking your time on your next Oliver trip! 

[John Dorrer]

We have the "I" Pass for Illinois, and the Midwest, includes Kentucky, out to Kansas.

We also have the Texas Pass.  

 

While prefering back roads, many times camper is at the campground and travel is quicker on the roll roads around Texas.

 

While I grew up with the Tri-State toll road and the I-80 toll road in Northern Indiana, I can also remember the long lines to toss coins into the basket.

 

I would much prefer the electronic reading as I drive under the sensor than getting a bunch of written statements. They replenish our balance and I can review charges on the computer when I get home.

 

I would prefer an extra 14-20 minutes on the Tri-State, I-294, than driving the Dan Ryan through the heart of Chicago, and especially towing the trailer.🙃

3 hours ago, jd1923 said:

We were brought up with the Illinois Toll Road from the early 70s through the late 90s when we moved out of state. If you didn't have coins, you had to wait in the long line with cash. When our son was young he called it "money basketball." Don't miss!

Had the Texas Tag for a decade and the Sun Pass for 4 years after that. We closed those accounts when we moved back to AZ! Have NONE today and much prefer it that way. Aren't we taxed enough?! We traveled from home to the Texas Rally traveling 90% off the Interstates, and no tollways. The backroads are better, state and county highways, while taking your time on your next Oliver trip! 

Have the 

Edited February 9 by John Dorrer
Typo

[Galway Girl]

I'll close this topic with the following update:

We used the EZ Pass that we ordered through the mail via the NY Tollway Authority website.

We mounted and activated the transponder when we crossed in the US from Canada at Toronto/Buffalo and it worked like a champ all through the eastern states and Florida.  We never had to worry about the trailer as all the drive thru sites correctly tolled our setup.

Now that we're back on the west coast...not sure what to do with the Transponder.
We probably need to de-register or something as we'll not be using it for quite a while.

Craig Short

Hull 505