[Anchorman]

LOL! Thanks, Jim. I'm sort of enjoying it, with various degrees of trepidation. I'd love to load the trailer up with all kinds of stuff - but that 15,000 lbs of gross weight is really looming pretty large in terms of limiting what we can do. I have to get the weight of my son's car and the actual trailer weight before I know for sure how much "room" we have. Maybe we'll have to load up with air tools (get it?) and air mattresses.



There certainly is room, though, for willing spectators in the truck. Come join us, it would be our pleasure - and at least then my son would have someone closer to his age to pal around with, rather than just the old man.

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[flash]

by the way 8.5 ft is normal for a trailer width - i had mine made narrower for aerodynamic reasons, as well as ease of driving, but it certainly makes things tougher inside



i would get something on the mirrors that extends out the same distance, so that you can learn how wide you are - something like curb feelers would do the trick

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[Anchorman]

It may be standard width - but it's still WWIIDDEE.



The mirrors can be extended from their normal position - I'm willing to bet (but not a whole lot) that when they're extended, I'll be able to see down the sides of the trailer, so the mirrors will be wider than the trailer - and can act as my whiskers (if I can get the truck, with the mirrors, through whatever, I can get the trailer through). I'm still going to make sure that I don't have to go to manned toll booths - getting close enough to touch the attendant is not something I want to try.

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[banditsc]

You will hit tolls in NH and ME on 95, but they have fast pass, I'm guessing they would accept a responder from another state if you have one.

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[Anchorman]

I wonder if I can check in advance? I'll have EZ-Pass. More web work to do. Thanks.



(A few minutes later...) That wasn't bad at all. Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey all participate in EZ-Pass. Vermont does not - is that because Vermont doesn't have any toll roads?



It also turns out that every state we'll drive through in December on our way to VIR participates in EZ-Pass. If we go further south than Virginia, we run out of EZ-Pass territory.



Interestingly, going west, it looks like all states to Illinois participate - except Ohio.

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[banditsc]

I don't recall any toll roads in VT, and south of VA toll roads are scarce. None in NC that I know of and only one in SC which you can bypass, but you will probably never see that road.

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[Anchorman]

So, if we really decide to hit the road some week, it's Georgia and Florida we'll have to be concerned about.



I just got EZ-Pass to authorize one of my existing tags to be used on the truck - so I'm getting closer to being good to go next week. Next is to learn how to use the fancy Kenwood sound/nav/XM/Bluetooth unit my son installed in the truck.

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[banditsc]

Only one toll road in the Georgia in the Atlanta area. So stick to 95 and you are good to go.

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[Anchorman]

It will be interesting to see how far we decide we're willing to roam now that we have this rig. Probably the limit will be how far we can reasonably drive in one day - thereby limiting the entire outing to four days (two on the track, and one each to get there and back). At least, until we both retire.

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[flash]

pretty sure you still have to go through the manned booth, because of the trailer, and the fact that they charge you by the axle - i know that is how it is out here, and what i had to do when i brought my trailer out there - however, my ezpass did work for the charges

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[Anchorman]

I specifically asked about this - how does the system know how much to charge me because sometimes I'll have the trailer and sometimes I won't. I was told that the system counts the number of axles and charges accordingly. Pretty sophisticated! Which I'm glad about, because - at least for the first few times - I really don't want to try and get close enough to a person, and risk modifying the toll booth structure.

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[flash]

hmmm - i know the signs out here specifically say that trailers must go through the manned gates - i was told the same thing out there - the gate person had to count axles



but, if you haven't already done so, i would look into it with ezpass in your area directly - that ticket is nasty

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[Anchorman]

I'll check again - but it was a live person at EZ-Pass that told me what I've reported.



(After doing some web research...)



From the FAQs on the E-Z Pass web site:



I sometimes pull a camper or trailer with my vehicle. Can I still use my tag?



Yes. In this instance the equipment in the lane is designed to identify that your vehicle is pulling a trailer and you will be charged accordingly. However, if you think this will be a regular occurrence, you should call the Customer Service Center and have them send you a tag programmed for the vehicle classification you use most frequently. You should never use your tag in a vehicle type other than the one you initially requested (i.e. Car tag in a tractor-trailer).

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[flash]

very cool - i wonder why we don't have that here? sure would make things faster



i will have to remember that though for the next time i'm out there with the trailer

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[DiREW0LF]

What route are you planning to take up to Maine? My wife is from Maine so I know the trip pretty well. Its a pretty nice easy ride, be careful of snow though, small storms estimated to drop only an inch or two can end up stalling and dropping a foot.



Where in Maine is the trailer?

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[Anchorman]

The trailer is in Buxton, Maine, which I think is just south of Portland. I was going to take whatever route the nav system that's in the truck tells me to take (I've become somewhat of an obedient slave to nav systems <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> ).



I hadn't thought much about snow, but that's certainly a good point. The truck - with it's six brand spanking new Goodyears - should not have any problem. However, I would certainly not like to do my first tow of this trailer in snow. I think I'll pack some goodies so that I can pull to the side (rest area, motel, or the shoulder) and stay a while. I'll also make sure to keep the fuel tank near full.



Thanks.



I'm also in North Jersey - Mahwah, to be specific.



(A day later...)



The one further thought on the route is that I'll want to avoid the TZ bridge on Monday morning. So I'll be looking at a route that involves going north on the Thruway to Newburgh and then across on I-84.

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[DiREW0LF]

Personally I would go the extra few miles and take the Thruway to rt90 (Mass Turnpike) as rt84 can suck going through Hartford, CT and the cops can be pricks. I would check to make sure you can take a big trailer like that on the Mass Turnpike but is a much nicer ride (I think tractor trailers are allowed so you should be ok). If you go that way I would also stay away from 95 near Boston. Go rt90 to 495 to 95. You'll avoid the mass people going in and out of Boston.



Also, be VERY careful on the short section of rt95 in New Hampshire!!! I've been stopped there a few times for only being 1-5mph over the limit. They like to stand under the bridges with laser and stop groups of cars. The one time I was 3mph over driving with a group of about 15 cars. They stopped ALL of us! Luckily the ticket was only $125 and the points didn't transfer.

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[Anchorman]

Good points - since I'm looking for the easiest route, I just might take the one you suggest. There's just about nothing easier than miles on the NYS Thruway. I'm a cruise control fanatic, and with the stuff I'll be driving, I'll be at or slightly under the limit all of the time - no need to attract undesired attention. Thanks again.

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[flash]

yeah - don't want to get nailed for speeding with a trailer - those tickets are NASTY



radar detector

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[Anchorman]

I've stopped using a radar detector - and I've stopped speeding. I save it for the track. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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