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nothermark · 07-05-2017, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mzbrandi

Hmmmm.......will have to smear mud over my license plates when I next travel the n/e next time. I suspect they have cameras picking up one's rear plate.

Yup. And the camera technology has gotten quite good.

I might call them and explain and see if I could avoid the fine and maybe fee by giving them a CC over the phone. First trip in new MH and blew the lane choice. Won't happen again, etc.

FreshAir · 07-05-2017, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FreshAir

Coming home a couple weeks ago from our PDI I accidentally got into the wrong lane at the toll gate, flew right through w/o paying.Must have been one of those auto EZ Pass ones. I told the DW we just screwed up and to watch for a flashing red light and we'll see if we can make the boarder. Will we be receiving a notice?

Pat:

Regarding post. I missed paying at a toll gate in Illinois two weeks ago. I called today to surrender and this is what I was told by automated Illinois Toll information. First of all it was like trying to call a particular dept. in the SS system. Never talked with a live person but did get the IL Toll Way automated info. line .630-241-6800 x 2071.

AS I understood, you have 7 days to contact Ill by e-mail to pay if you miss paying at a toll gate. You must know the date and time, the roadway, toll plaza name or number. I'm pretty sure it was in Illinois before noon. After 7 days it may result in a violation incurring additional fines or charges. Violation notices will not be sent to persons having less than three violations in a 24 month period.

It didn't say I would be sent a payment notice. At least we tried. Much to do about nothing. The Clampetts.
Pat

Gary.Jones · 07-05-2017, 09:14 PM

Pat

I can assure you that New Jersey and Pennsylvania had no hesitation billing me for the two times I had my transponder mounted in the "wrong" place. I think they looked up my official registration location for the Honda (by the way, the only plate they could see was the Honda) so that is how they hunted me down. They included a photo image of my car plate, with the time and date. They also billed me for the toll and then added a fee to find my address, a penalty for not paying quickly enough, a mailing fee, and maybe something more. I wrote them a check, and I found a new place to put the transponder (down near the mobile eye). Interestingly, my bill for one of the states was only for the car and they failed to bill for the bus (didn't see the plate?h

Gary

FreshAir · 07-05-2017, 09:43 PM

Gary, I'm confident you understand a lot more than I do about this Toll stuff and thanks for your reply. I think I will likely hear from the state of Illionis in the near future. I'm OK with it as I admit I broke the law.
Pat

Victory Blue · 07-06-2017, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

Bill: I know you and I have a different understanding and we have argued it before. Sooooooooooo, I just waited on hold for 24 minutes to talk to an iPass representative and we went over the policy of the iPass again. I explained what I had.... a 3 axle Anthem which is classed as a "heavy vehicle" and I have a Honda CR-V (a normal car) and asked what did I need.... without a moments hesitation, she said I needed one transponder that was registered as a heavy vehicle and one transponder that was registered for a "normal" car. I asked how each dealt with more axles and she said that the machines always counted axles..... (Honda pulling a small 2 axle speed boat and trailer would be billed as a 4 axle car, but the Anthem (a heavy vehicle in the same weight class as a heavy duty dumptruck or a semi) would be charged as a heavy vehicle with 5 total axles (only 3 are really "heavy", but the Honda gets charged as a heavy vehicle since it is connected to the Anthem.

Now, if you look up on Illinois' tollroad webpage, and lets say you get on at Rockford and travel to I-80, the toll would be $10.80 for a car (2 axles). If I was pulling a trailer, the machine would add to that basic cost for the additional axles and weight. If instead, I was driving a 5 axle semi and made the same trip, the charge is $40.80. BIG difference!! The Anthem plus the Honda would be charged at the "heavy vehicle" rate.

I did ask what if I put the Honda transponder in the Anthem and pulled the Honda, she said that the equipment would sense that I was not a car by sensing the number of tires, the number of axles, and the weight of the unit, and it would up charge me as a "heavy vehicle" making the same trip. So, if all of that is really true, then it might not make any difference. If their equipment says "wait a second Charlie, you are not driving a light duty vehicle that your transponder is registered to, but instead, you are driving a tall, heavy, many-tired and axle-d multiaxle vehicle, so I am not charging you by the transponder, but will instead upcharge you since you are not a car and instead charge you the heavy vehicle rate" then we end up at the same place.

This is a hypothesis..... it all depends on the words that you choose. If you say you have an RV pulling a car, then my guess is that you are either thought of as a 5'er (pick up pulling a trailer) or a small RV pulling a car, and therefore, considered a light vehicle with more axles. If you really describe what you have (a bus the size of a commercial or Grayhound bus), pulling a car, you are recognized as a heavy vehicle and registered as such. I have always been clear on what my "RV" really is....

Gary

Gary,

It's certainly not my intention to start an argument; just stating the facts as they apply to me. It's obvious the Illinois Toll Authority gives out different information to different callers. I'd take what you were told with a grain of salt.

When I ordered the transponder for my Anthem I told them an RV towing a car. They asked how it was licensed and I said passenger car plate, which it is in TN. They did everything from there and set it up as Auto/Motorcycle. As you said, the toll system counts the extra axles so I'm paying the right toll, whatever that turns out to be.

On their website there is no vehicle class for "Heavy Vehicle". There's Passenger/ Motorcycle, Small Truck, Medium Truck, Large Truck. These are their definitions, not mine. The Anthem is not a truck and shouldn't be classified as such.

nothermark · 07-07-2017, 03:42 AM

NY, and from what I have read, some other states, give a break to RV's over commercial trucks. The issue is that the state has to be told you are an RV. That is probably where that set of transponder codes came from. It pays to check in advance when going to different states.

Hayman · 07-07-2017, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nothermark

NY, and from what I have read, some other states, give a break to RV's over commercial trucks. The issue is that the state has to be told you are an RV. That is probably where that set of transponder codes came from. It pays to check in advance when going to different states.

My understanding of discounts was to residents of the state unless I misunderstood the CS Rep.

The real problem IMHO is the individual states/systems inability to agree on a mutually compatible system even though mandated by the Federal Gov't. to be compatible effective Oct. 2016. The states appear to be no closer to resolving the issue.

That's why for us as S.D. full timers the N.C. Transponders made the most sense as they are compatible with the systems east of the Mississippi and no longer do we need to maintain multiple transponder systems.

spuds · 07-07-2017, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nothermark

NY, and from what I have read, some other states, give a break to RV's over commercial trucks. The issue is that the state has to be told you are an RV. That is probably where that set of transponder codes came from. It pays to check in advance when going to different states.

NY's discounts for RVs are specific to the Thruway with a NYS-issued EZPass and you must submit your vehicle registration to get the discount plan(s) (and then you have to double-check that things were set up correctly)

E-ZPass: Discount Plans - New York State Thruway

Scroll down to Thruway Motorhome Discount Plan and Thruway Special Discount Towing Plan.

You don't need to be a resident of the EZ-Pass state to get the state-specific discounts, you just need the transponder for that state. For example, we are Texas residents with NYS transponders for the coach/coach-towing so we get the Thruway discounts. In other states, such as on the MassPike and any Hudson-river crossings in NY, we get charged the standard 5H rate for the coach-towing. Our toad gets its Maine transponder affixed when we "drop anchor" and we get a break on tolls when we drive it on the Maine Turnpike, but no extra discounts in other states.

Michelle

nothermark · 07-08-2017, 07:22 AM

What about the rest of the story? I have not looked. Rolling through the booth it registers as tall and multi axle. Do the other states give a different rate for a motor home rather than a commercial truck?

spuds · 07-08-2017, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nothermark

What about the rest of the story? I have not looked. Rolling through the booth it registers as tall and multi axle. Do the other states give a different rate for a motor home rather than a commercial truck?

Not with a NYS EZ-Pass. Only in NY and only on the Thruway and then only if you have the discount plan on your account. Other states see the blue 215 5H (5 axle high, towing) transponder and charge 5 axle, tall vehicle rate.

NJ has a trailer discount plan, but it only works on the Garden State and the transponder has to be NJ-issued.

Gary.Jones · 07-08-2017, 08:44 AM

I always get charged the 5 axle semi/heavy truck rate with the Anthem which is why you really need the auto add/charge-card on your account. You in fact are a tall, heavy, multi/axle vehicle that weighs between 40,000 and 50,000 pounds and it is obvious that you are not going to be billed as a personal car. There is no difference between my anthem and a twin screw dump truck and a commercial sight-seeking bus and they pay commercial rates. You can blow through $50 in a day easy if you are a big user of tollways. I am not sure how the high speed lanes work but my assumption has been that the transponder knows you are a heavy, 5 axle vehicle from where you got on the tollway (or the transponder is registered as such from when you got it) and simply cross references numbers and continues to bill you at the same class as you pass through the high speed sensors.

I don't really like to pay the tolls but sometimes the directness and speed and convenience make it mandatory, but then I don't want to lose all the speed advantage by sitting in a long line of "cash payers" or non EZPass users to run credit cards each time. Once you have an EZPass, you never want to screw around with cards or cash.

Gary

GeezerViz · 07-08-2017, 08:54 AM

I haven't traveled any further west than Wyoming in a number of years, so this may be a dumb question... Can't you just set the GPS to "avoid tolls" and not worry about any of this? Or is it impossible to avoid tolls?

nothermark · 07-08-2017, 10:09 AM

Tolls are often avoidable. The issue is what you are dealing with when you do.

That is where local knowledge and/or good map reading helps. One example would be going east from Niagara Falls NY. The fast way would be to use the expressways including I-90 with it's toll. Rt 104 is about as fast but is mostly 55 mph two lane with a few slow downs east past Syracuse. Prettier and about as fast when one allows for the reduced miles.

Gary.Jones · 07-08-2017, 10:50 AM

Northermark is right on the money.

You can avoid tolls with a GPS but then you have to factor in what route the GPS is going to take you. It can take you miles and miles out of your way to find a road that is appropriate for your height and weight, you may be routed down a road that has a little town with a red light and/or a stop sign every 5 miles (I have traveled roads near Austin that have more traffic lights per 10 miles than anywhere in the country), or through an urban city where traffic lights and traffic congestion will make you pray for the ability to get on an interstate/tollroad and bypass all of that mess. Another issue to factor in all the stopping and starting and what that is doing to your diesel fuel mileage..... sometimes you want to stop and go, and sometimes you dont. One of the last times that I got off on a parallel road to a tollway, I got stuck in a 4th of July parade through a small town where there was no alternate route around the parade route, and we simply had to sit and enjoy the parade along with the locals (there are times I am in those sorts of moods, and other times when I definitely am NOT in those sorts of moods (if I am trying to make time)).

There are times that a good road is right beside the tollway (I dont remember what the road is now, but there is a route that runs east and west right through most of Ohio just South of the turnpike and is often within sight of the Ohio Turnpike (or maybe it is Indiana) that is not bad. So, there is no way that I would simply tell my GPS to avoid tollways and then hang on and blindly follow where it routes me.

Gary