RV and toll rates

Do RV's pay more than a car when going through toll booths? I went through the Whitestone bridge in NY yesterday and used my E-ZPass from my car and it let me through. I won't see the charges till my next statement in a few weeks so won't know how much it was.

I checked the NYC MTA bridge and tunnel authority and found the following:

Two-axle vehicles, including: passenger vehicles, station wagons, self-propelled mobile homes, ambulances, hearses, vehicles with seating capacity of not more than 15 adult persons (including the driver), and trucks with maximum gross weight (MGW) of 7,000 lbs. and under $4.00
 
  *Each additional axle costs $2.00

All vehicles with MGW greater than 7,000 lbs and buses (other than franchise buses using E-ZPass and motor homes)       
  *Two-axle vehicles $7.20
  *Each additional axle $4.00

The Authority reserves the right to determine whether any vehicle is of unusual or unconventional design, weight, or construction and therefore not within any of the listed categories. The Authority also reserves the right to determine the crossing charge for any such vehicle of unusual or unconventional design, weight, or construction.

The E-ZPass lanes are un-manned. How does it know what my RV weighs? (mine is over 7,000 lbs). Do the lanes have a scale? Or was I not supposed to use the EZ-pass from my car and have to apply for a new one just for the RV?

I think you answered your own question as far as the MTA bridge is concerned. Most toll roads and bridges charge by weight or by the axel. Can't think of any that we've been on that didn't charge a higher rate for RVs.

Wendy
Death Valley NP

A few  toll booths have scales (I know Ohio does), but most all have cameras and the recordings are checked for anomalies. I think your EZ Pass account identifies the type of your vehicle and sooner or later they will notice if you are using it on another vehicle of a different type and charge you appropriately.

Do RV's pay more than a car when going through toll booths?

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Absolutely!  At California bridges you pay by the axle.  For a 40-footer pulling a toad, you have three axles on the RV and two on the toad, so you pay for five axles.  We encountered the same thing in other parts of the country.  Don't think we've ever paid the car rate.

ArdraF

With an EZ Pass registered to your car + an automated unmanned booth, you may be able to squeeze by on the car rate for awhile.  But as mentioned, they probably have ways to charge you the higher rate and will do so eventually! 

On our trip back from NY (where we bought our MH) to home in IL, we were on tollways pretty much through all of NY, PA, OH, IN and into IL south of Chicago.  The tolls were fierce, and certainly higher for the MH (my wife was following in the car).    That was through almost all manual booths (handing an actual person actual money).  If we ever drive that route again, I'd rather go the scenic route and avoid wasting the extra money for roads that weren't THAT good.

If we ever drive that route again, I'd rather go the scenic route and avoid wasting the extra money for roads that weren't THAT good.

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Scotty, You've hit on a good point, but one which isn't always clear. Many people drive toll roads to save travel time, especially commuters. Many other people travel other roads for the scenery, and don't care too much about travel time. Where the waters get muddy is when you travel through, let's say Illinois, on the Skyway, have an E-Z Pass to speed you through the toll process and not have to fumble for money, and barrel right along - headlong into some of the worst traffic back-ups known to man. Maybe it all averages out for commuters, but I'll take the secondary roads whenever I can, and enjoy a slower, less stressful ride.

I know here in Texas (Houston) they charge by the axle.  I think most toll roads are like that.  The have some kind of camera system that counts the axles and charges you if you have an EZTag (as they're called here).  Or obviously the person can count the axels at a booth.

Around the Orlando area they charge by the axle. When driving the coach with toad I pay for 4 axles which is more expensive than paying for two 2-axle vehicles! I even had one toll taker tell me it would be cheaper if I unhooked the toad.

Jim Dick said:

Around the Orlando area they charge by the axle. When driving the coach with toad I pay for 4 axles which is more expensive than paying for two 2-axle vehicles! I even had one toll taker tell me it would be cheaper if I unhooked the toad.

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Do they provide a pull-off lane BEFORE the toll booths, so you can take care of prior to coming through?  :

scottydl said:

Do they provide a pull-off lane BEFORE the toll booths, so you can take care of prior to coming through?  :

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No, they don't but in some cases there is enough room to pull over just prior to the booth. With my luck the State Troopers would ticket me for illegal parking. ;D

Jim Dick said:

Around the Orlando area they charge by the axle. When driving the coach with toad I pay for 4 axles which is more expensive than paying for two 2-axle vehicles! I even had one toll taker tell me it would be cheaper if I unhooked the toad.

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We have run across the same thing but the difference in cost wasn't enough to warrant unhooking the toad.  There are some things that if you are going to enjoy the RVing lifestyle you just have to accept same as fuel mileage you just don't get real good fuel mileage unless you think 6 - 10 MPG is great.

Tulsa Turnpike the same way.  Not worth time to unhook and then Rehook.

Last summer while crossing theThoudand Island bridge into canada the kid in the toll booth stuck his head out and looked at my Toad " Is he with you he siad" when I ansered " He better be I've
been pulling hin forb 1500  miles, he doubled the toll.

The guy that told me it would be less expensive if I unhooked really wasn't serious. He did have a grin. He also asked me on another occasion if there was anybody in the back. Again joking. I certainly wouldn't think about pulling over to unhook to save a couple of dollars.

A couple of years ago, I was getting on the New York Thruway east of Albany with my 20 ft class B When the the booth operator asked "Is that a doolie?" (dually).  It took me a bit to figure out what she wanted.  It wasn't, and she charged me the car rate.
Art

I better get an EZPass registered to the MH and stop using the one from the car, which I only used twice. The first time the gate opened immediately. On the return trip over the bridge, it didn't and I had to wait for an attendant to manually swipe my pass. Not sure if that was due to my holding the pass in my hand and not had it on the windshield or it they detected the RV the first trip and held me up to take better photos. Maybe I'll get a notice in the mail with a fine? I'll let you know if I do. Sounds like something they would do.

Scottydl, what length is the RV in your sig? It's got a huge side window! Is it a DP?

scottydl said:

With an EZ Pass registered to your car + an automated unmanned booth, you may be able to squeeze by on the car rate for awhile.  But as mentioned, they probably have ways to charge you the higher rate and will do so eventually! 

On our trip back from NY (where we bought our MH) to home in IL, we were on tollways pretty much through all of NY, PA, OH, IN and into IL south of Chicago.  The tolls were fierce, and certainly higher for the MH (my wife was following in the car).    That was through almost all manual booths (handing an actual person actual money).  If we ever drive that route again, I'd rather go the scenic route and avoid wasting the extra money for roads that weren't THAT good.

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Scotty's RV is a gasser

IwannaRV said:

Scottydl, what length is the RV in your sig? It's got a huge side window! Is it a DP?

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Gasser as Shayne said, it's 35 feet, and the huge bay windows (and the floorplan within) are one of the main reasons we bought the Thor.  They were one of the only manufacturers that offered a floorplan like it, for a motorhome without slides.  It has an L-shaped couch and a side aisle setup that fits in perfectly with the windows (see interior image below).  Thor did make some DP's in the 90's before they halted their motorhome operations and switched 100% to trailers.

King said:

A couple of years ago, I was getting on the New York Thruway east of Albany with my 20 ft class B When the the booth operator asked "Is that a doolie?" (dually).  It took me a bit to figure out what she wanted.  It wasn't, and she charged me the car rate.

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So they charged by number of tires?  Seems like every state is different.  Many of the primary tollways in Illinois are now changing over to ALL I-pass in the main lanes = no slowing down.  But if you have to pay manually it requires you to actually exit the freeway, go through the booths, and then re-merge into the rest of the locals with the I-pass module.

Scotty,

Those long windows remind me of Karl's Bounder. They're definitely a nice feature.

Tom said:

Those long windows remind me of Karl's Bounder. They're definitely a nice feature.

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We love them.  Mine are right up front in the living room area (curbside), but recently I've seen DP's cruising down the road that will have 1 or 2 similar windows midway back or close to the rear of the coach on the driver's side.  Any idea what "room" those are in on newer models?