Value of Purchasing an EZ-Pass for Driving from Ontario to WDW

[morrik5]

I see the EZ-Pass is now valid in 19 States including Florida. We are a Class A Motorhome towing a Chevy Equinox and the RV itself has a GVWR of 20,500 lbs. It looks like EZ-Pass would make us apply for the
"Prepaid Only - Recreational Vehicle (MOTORH) This account offers a prepaid option for non-commercial customers registering an RV weighing over 15,000 pounds not currently enrolled in any other E-ZPass program. Requires $100 initial prepaid account balance."

We are going to WDW and I think it looks like the transponder can be used in either vehicle in case we need to go on our day off from the parks to somewhere requiring us to travel the I-4.

I wonder if all the toll roads from PA to I-75 SB through to the Florida Turnpike accept billing by plate if we do not get a transponder or must we stop and pay at the toll booth? Not sure if we would use up the $100 prepaid balance in tolls.

Any advice from fellow Canadians especially would be appreciated.







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[KCMA]

I can’t speak on driving with a motorhome/towing etc… we honestly have never seen the value in getting a EZ pass.. we always keep an envelope of small bills handy and just pay cash .. any potential time savings at the ez pass lane over a 23 hour drive really doesn’t concern us … there have been some bill by plates that we never got a bill for as well, I guess it’s not worth hassle to bill an out of country plate sometimes..

 

[torontominnie]

In many places they have removed the toll booths entirely. The fees are lower with a transponder and it’s generally much faster in the couple of cases where there are still toll booths. We drove that route in December and the transponder worked the whole way - it made for a painless set of tolls. As an fyi if you haven’t driven that way in a while I think the PA tolls have increased.

 

[bankr63]

AFAIK there is no billing by plate in Florida (that's a Canadian thing). It is transponder or cash. It sounds like you have done your research about the RV because with that many axles (4 or5) and 2 plates it could get complicated. Also, with the higher tolls for heavy multi-axle vehicles/consists it might not take long to eat through $100. Some states have toll calculators so you might want to check and see what the tolls would be for your situation.
Personally I just like it for the convenience, but then we only have $10-20 tied up with auto-refill.

 

[isabellea]

The FL turnpike was only for those with a transponder in the past. We have a Sunpass so no issue for us but my uncle got a ticket driving on it without one. We have both a Sunpass and EZ Pass (NY) and always pre-pay (have at least 20$ in our accounts with auto-refill).

 

[PittPantherfan]

In many places they have removed the toll booths entirely. The fees are lower with a transponder and it’s generally much faster in the couple of cases where there are still toll booths. We drove that route in December and the transponder worked the whole way - it made for a painless set of tolls. As an fyi if you haven’t driven that way in a while I think the PA tolls have increased.

Interstate 90 in NYS has moved to no toll booths and EZ pass- not sure if there is pay by plate or not. Not sure how you will travel south, but it may be helpful thru NYS (Buffalo to PA) If you are traveling thru western PA, there will no toll roads in PA. The only toll roads in PA are the PA turnpike with the vast majority of this running east-west.

 

[torontominnie]

Sorry, I was thinking of WV (the mountain tunnel area). It all blurs into one long highway

 

[morrik5]

The FL turnpike was only for those with a transponder in the past. We have a Sunpass so no issue for us but my uncle got a ticket driving on it without one. We have both a Sunpass and EZ Pass (NY) and always pre-pay (have at least 20$ in our accounts with auto-refill).

Just checked their website and they posted: "Tolls must be paid at the time you travel through a toll lane with either cash or a prepaid account such as SunPass, E-PASS, LeeWay or another interoperable transponder account." So if we choose not to get a transponder due to our size and cost factor of the transponder etc. at least we know we can still pay cash as with the other tolls on the way south from Canada.

 

[isabellea]

For the turnpike, there are some lengths without toll plazas for cash (e.g. between Miami and Orlando). Last time we took it in 2018, there was no pay-per-plate option, but now it seems they have a toll-per-plate option.
https://floridasturnpike.com/tolls/all-electronic-tolling/