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Easy pass while hauling a canoe?

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Does the thruway easy pass unit in the upper windshield work when you have canoes on the roof? Just got one.
Turtle
 
EZ Pass is often used by us with boat or boats on the roof. We have not had any issues. We use it in ME MA NYNH PA OH and others..We have probably been scanned with boats 500 times. Just make sure the green light comes on.. Open road tolling requires a little trust.

We do not do any gymnastic removal of the unit. It may well be welded to the windshield after six years
 
Never had a problem here... and I drive a Mazda 3. The whole windshield is covered, and hood, and bumper.... even hauling a 17' grumman. They always get yer cash.

Jason
 
In thousands of uses with multiple canoes on the roof the EZ Pass has failed to register only once.

It read when I entered the PA Turnpike but did not give me a green at the far end as I passed (very) slowly through the toll gate. Whatever, I kept going.

Word of warning; I had just bought the new truck and had taken the EZ Pass off my old car. I had not thought to switch the vehicle information with EZ Pass to the new truck.

A week later I received a photo to the truck’s license tag, and a $70 ticket. My bad.
 
In thousands of uses with multiple canoes on the roof the EZ Pass has failed to register only once.

It read when I entered the PA Turnpike but did not give me a green at the far end as I passed (very) slowly through the toll gate. Whatever, I kept going.

Word of warning; I had just bought the new truck and had taken the EZ Pass off my old car. I had not thought to switch the vehicle information with EZ Pass to the new truck.

A week later I received a photo to the truck’s license tag, and a $70 ticket. My bad.


I know the I Pass in Illinois uses the scan but the photo as a back-up. If the vehicle is registered to the Pass some do not bother changing the unit from windshield to windshield.
 
I've never had an issue with my EZ-Pass with a boat atop my Toyota "Tacoma." I've only driven in NYS and around New England but so far, no problems at all; and I always center my canoe on the roof of my truck so the transponder is somewhat obstructed by the canoe.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper
 
thanks, I'm being dragged unwillingly into the electronic age. A nearby toll bridge no longer takes money!
Turtle
 
In thousands of uses with multiple canoes on the roof the EZ Pass has failed to register only once.

It read when I entered the PA Turnpike but did not give me a green at the far end as I passed (very) slowly through the toll gate. Whatever, I kept going.

Word of warning; I had just bought the new truck and had taken the EZ Pass off my old car. I had not thought to switch the vehicle information with EZ Pass to the new truck.

A week later I received a photo to the truck’s license tag, and a $70 ticket. My bad.

Generally if you contest it they waive the ticket and you just pay the toll. You're allowed to use the EZPass in other cars, so it's not like you did anything wrong.

My last trip with a canoe the pass didn't read at the exit gate, but since it was registered to the license plate they just charged my EZPass and didn't send a ticket. I was impressed that they did something that made sense.
 
OK thanks. Another question. What if you are pulling a trailer?
 
Answers all over the place http://www.popupportal.com/threads/i...railer.118177/

However we have pulled a trailer with the boats on top of the truck since 2016
We have been over 70 000 miles of highways and in every EZ pass state and have never been contacted that we need another transponder. It seems to be recognized when we pull a trailer. But our home EZ Pass is in Maine and NY EZ pass may differ.. You may wish to try to contact NY EZ pass and hope you get a lit bulb.
If you have no option to put your EZ pass in the foil bag and manually pay the tolls ( ie no booth) I suggest just going for it. You have an open toll situation so the equipment ( sensors) are more modern and will read the additional axle.

Remember when we had EZ Pass in ME and NH and Fast Pass in MA.. that was a nightmare in the old days
 
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I'm no authority but I would think a trailer attached to your vehicle would be treated the same as a tractor trailer. Of course, since that makes sense, it may not be correct :rolleyes:.

Someday you won't even need your EZ-Pass. They've already eliminated the need for one in MA. All the toll booths have been dismantled and you pass under an electric reader. According to the information, if you don't have any EZ-Pass unit, they'll send you a bill. Of course, having the EZ-Pass is cheaper but still cost more if you're not from MA. All the signs I see on the Mass Turnpike indicate 3 levels of fee; cheapest if you're a MA resident with EZ-Pass, next level up if you have EZ-Pass from another state and the most costly if you have no EZ-Pass at all. I'm sure there is some well thought out rationalization somewhere for all of this but it seems like a racket to me.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper
 
I'm surprised to hear nobody has problems with the ez-pass, because I do. But it can be very inconsistent, perhaps because the electronics deployed in toll booths is of various ages. Perhaps it also matters where the readers are positioned--overhead or facing the traffic. I have definitely had problems, mostly at the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Perhaps it matters that I have an old ez-pass, old enough that the State just mailed me a replacement and instructed me to dispose of the old one.

While I have had at least a dozen missed "reads", I also had a read one time when I didn't think the ez-pass was in the car. Maryland used to charge us just for having an ez-pass. That has been discontinued, but my wife and I used to share one device that wasn't always with me. So I pulled up to the toll both ready to pay. To my surprise, the ez-pass beat me to it. The ez-pass was actually in my center console, and if it can be read from the center console, it doesn't seem like a canoe would be in the way. I have also had missed reads when there was no boat on the truck. Maybe I was going too fast, I never have figured it out. Hopefully, the new device will be better.
 
Yes it would be great if all EZ electronics were modern.. I've not of course used all EZ pass tolls and avoid the Balt DC area like it was infected.. I gladly come back from FL and cut up 77 to 81 to avoid the DC Balt-Philly- NY and loop around BOS,

But a canoe trailer or RV trailer ought not to be read as a semi.. Photos are taken every time you pass through and also weight taken. No way is a semi even a tractor going to be confused with my combi.
I still cringe at the EZ pass with gates.. Expecting a hard thunk.. Once the green light came on and the gate did not budge.. A horn summoned a supervisor who punched an override button
 
I’ve had good luck with EZ pass when I used to travel back and forth between Virginia and Maine with single and double canoes on the roof. It worked well through all the states in between. What I didn’t plan on is the automatic photo ticket generator they often have in construction zones when the job is shut down. I did get a photo and monetary reminder that even at 2 am on an empty highway the construction zone speed limit still applies.
 
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