Anyone buy a Sunpass/toll thingy?

coastgirl

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 16, 2006
I've read that you can pick up a toll transponder for a few bucks and use that instead of the rental car thingy (which has crazy daily fees). On a previous trip we got "stuck" at an exit with no way to pay cash, so dh wants a better answer.

(And we paid about $30 for accidentally crossing one the Vancouver bridges in a rental car a few summers ago!)

Wondering if anyone's purchased the pass, and if so how it worked?
 
We bought one a few years ago and just add our rental and $ (or pull out and attached to the windshield if driving our own vehicle down) needed through their app when arriving. Do not need to pay a rental premium/penalty to use theirs (now that all seen to provide) or keep a cup of change and need to pull into the cash lanes. Simplifies toll road use and saves little but just driving through is the big win (along with using toll only exits). The biggest challenge is remembering to remove when returning a rental.
 
I bought one a couple of years ago, leave it in with my passport, so I don’t forget to take it with me to Florida. After renting a car it is easy to add the rental plate number, and then I leave a note in the car’s cup holder to take if off the rental car.

I forgot how much it was, but not much and I usually top up the account to about $30 before the trip starts which is enough for our trips down to Key West.

Around Miami there are no toll booths and it is easy to end up on a toll road, so I like not having to worry about getting hit with a late car rental charge.
 
It does work very well. We have one in each of our vehicles because we normally drive down.

If you are using the transponder in a rental car, be sure that the rental agency disables their own transponder before you leave the lot. There are a few stories on the transportation board of people being double tolled as both transponders register on the gantry as you pass.

If you are only doing Disney it might not really be worth it. There aren't that many toll roads in the area, and aside from getting to and from the airport, you really don't need one. It's easy enough to just pay the tolls cash for those two trips.

Final thought, if you are using the rental agency transponder, it is well worth understanding their tolling policy. Some agencies (among them National/Alamo) only charge for the days that you use the toll; so two one-day charges for the airport. Others (Budget, Hertz among them) charge for every day of the rental, even if you only use it one time. That can be a huge difference in up-charges.
 


I bought one last year from Publix. Wish I bought one years ago, sheesh. But to be fair they only came out with the portable suction cup model in the past few years. It’s easy to use as others said. I go to Ft. Lauderdale for 10-12 days before WDW and there are a few toll roads plus the turnpike drive up to WDW. Florida also seems to be doing away with manned toll booths, now I don’t have to worry.
 
Thanks all. I presume whatever you put on it isn't refundable? E.g., if we put on more than we need? We're not going to Fl as much as we used to (our last trip was more than 3 years ago), but are certainly all about making it easy for this trip.
 
Thanks all. I presume whatever you put on it isn't refundable? E.g., if we put on more than we need? We're not going to Fl as much as we used to (our last trip was more than 3 years ago), but are certainly all about making it easy for this trip.
I’m not sure! I’d go on SunPass web site and see if there’s a contact email or phone to find out.
 


Thanks all. I presume whatever you put on it isn't refundable? E.g., if we put on more than we need? We're not going to Fl as much as we used to (our last trip was more than 3 years ago), but are certainly all about making it easy for this trip.
Pretty sure there is a way to request a refund of loaded funds, but probably not worth the hassle. We only load $10 at a time (auto-refills), and probably have about $5-8 tied up between our two transponders. It sits there from year to year, and you can look at it like a hedge against lousy exchange rates.

We have the permanent transponders, and they make it very easy to cancel and add transponders to your account so the funds flow over to the next transponder. I'll likely have a new truck by our next trip down, so will be doing exactly that.
 
Pretty sure there is a way to request a refund of loaded funds, but probably not worth the hassle. We only load $10 at a time (auto-refills), and probably have about $5-8 tied up between our two transponders. It sits there from year to year, and you can look at it like a hedge against lousy exchange rates.

We have the permanent transponders, and they make it very easy to cancel and add transponders to your account so the funds flow over to the next transponder. I'll likely have a new truck by our next trip down, so will be doing exactly that.
The transponder I bought sticks on windshield by suction cups so no need to buy new ones. Handy as I use it in rental cars.
 
Sue, and everyone, thanks for the feedback. Where would you recommend we pick one up? I suppose near the airport makes the most sense, as I recall some tolls along the way (we are staying near Disney Springs the first night). I will see if I can download the app and be ready to activate.

I read somewhere that there's the suction cup kind and sticker kind. I wonder if I could tape the sticker to the windshield or something rather than use its adhesive? I believe there's only a couple of bucks in the difference, but that might buy a Twistee Treat! ;)
 
Sue, and everyone, thanks for the feedback. Where would you recommend we pick one up? I suppose near the airport makes the most sense, as I recall some tolls along the way (we are staying near Disney Springs the first night). I will see if I can download the app and be ready to activate.

I read somewhere that there's the suction cup kind and sticker kind. I wonder if I could tape the sticker to the windshield or something rather than use its adhesive? I believe there's only a couple of bucks in the difference, but that might buy a Twistee Treat! ;)
I'm not aware of anywhere at the airport that you can purchase one, so you are probably going to need cash toll before you get to a location that sells one. Leaving the airport without hitting a toll road is difficult (but not impossible). The most common retailers of SunPass are Publix, CVS, and Walgreens. Any one of these 3 should be easy to find, there are several within easy drive of DS. But again, unless you are planning on striking out far away from Disney, you aren't likely to see the benefit; there are very few toll roads in the immediate Disney area, aside from the 2 approaches to the airport. If you are heading to either coast as a side trip, then it can start to make some sense.

You would need to get the suction cup type. They claim that the stickers must be physically attached to the windshield to work. I'm not so sure that is true, but I doubt taping it in place would last very long in the hot Florida sun. The problem is as well that you have no idea if it is actually working. These are totally passive devices, so if you tape it up, and it is not working, you could face a nasty surprise from the rental agency when they send the charges back to you. I would go with the one that you know should work correctly (suction cups).
 
I thought I had replied before but don't see my response (I might have forgotten to actually click "Post Reply").

Anyway, arguably the easiest place to get it is at the Florida Welcome Center as you drive into Florida (the one from the I95 used to have them so I suspect they still do) although you can get them at tons of places (I think we've also gotten one from the pharmacy).

We have two of the "sticky" style (one in our car, one in our motorhome). The biggest advantage is that they are cheaper and they don't require batteries. The main drawback is that they don't give you any feedback (I.e. you just drive through and hope it registers!) They say the sticky ones can't be transferred from car-to-car but the I only peeled the corners off and the one in the car has been transferred at least 3 times. The one in the motorhome has been transferred at least twice.

As far as getting refunds, I would contact them but I wouldn't be surprised if you can.
 
... These are totally passive devices, so if you tape it up, and it is not working, you could face a nasty surprise from the rental agency when they send the charges back to you. I would go with the one that you know should work correctly (suction cups).

One thing you can do if you have the sticky style is register the vehicle plate of the rental car with your account so that even if it doesn't register, it will be charged charged to your account (and I don't think there's any penalty or extra fee if you do it this way). If you do this, make sure you "unregister" the plate from your account when you return the car. (We bought a car in Florida and got a temporary plate so I registered it with my account (which worked fine) but when I got my real plate, I forgot to remove the temporary from my account and a few months later got toll charges on the plate. It turns out that the used car dealer was re-using temp tags and so I was charged for those (you get pictures when they do charge by plate and it wasn't my car!)
 
Thanks all. Bankr63, we're not actually staying in Orlando, just flying in and out of there and spending most of our time in Tampa, with a few days on the Space Coast. I expect we'll have multiple tolls pretty quickly after our arrival day overnight in Orlando. But worth the trouble to bring a handful of coins for the first toll and then get it before we hit the road the next day.

MichelB sounds like the sticker is possible, but with the extra info you've given me, I think the suction cup is probably worth a couple-bucks more. Thanks for the great detail--that's why these boards are so much better than just reading a webpage!
 
Suction cup definitely for rental car. They’re pretty small. App is a little glitchy right now, after recent update but seems to be settling down. Good idea to download app and set up acct., add $ before you leave so when you get the transponder you can register plate # right away. I got mine at Publix. Can get at CVS, Walgreens, AAA, Florida Welcome Centres, Rest stop Plazas along Turnpike, and by mail. How far away is your trip? You can buy online thru SunPass web site and they’ll mail it to you.

I got caught in an un manned toll on the way to WDW, on The Greenway? With no change and had to get out of the car and beg for 0.50 from car behind me :guilty: So embarrassing. A few years ago. Before I had a transponder.

They took tolls off Vancouver bridges :upsidedow
 
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You can try and order one from Florida SunPass online. I live in Georgia, traded in my old car and bought another sticker for my new car. (I didn’t buy Georgia’s peach pass bc I didn’t want to lose my $ already in the Florida Acct and can use it here in GA and in NC). It arrived quickly.
 
Thanks all. Bankr63, we're not actually staying in Orlando, just flying in and out of there and spending most of our time in Tampa, with a few days on the Space Coast. I expect we'll have multiple tolls pretty quickly after our arrival day overnight in Orlando. But worth the trouble to bring a handful of coins for the first toll and then get it before we hit the road the next day.

MichelB sounds like the sticker is possible, but with the extra info you've given me, I think the suction cup is probably worth a couple-bucks more. Thanks for the great detail--that's why these boards are so much better than just reading a webpage!
So in this situation, a SunPass is well worth it.

You could order in advance as well as suggested by @BaymaxForever. We ordered both of ours by mail and they arrived in under 2 weeks. But with only 5 weeks left, that might feel a bit risky. Again, very easy to find one once you get there.

Also, don't discount the rental car option IF you are with the right agency. National charges the actual toll plus the daily fee for the days you use tolling. My guess is you might use it 4-5 days. There are no toll roads on the way to Tampa, but if you are going into Tampa there are a few. We spend a day in Sarasota with family every year and there are no tolls on that trip. Crossing over to the Space Coast usually puts you on a toll road if you want to get there quickly. And the trip to the airport does have tolls. When we rented, I never minded paying a reasonable fee for the convenience. I hated the gouging that some rental agencies employ.
 
The suction cup one is most likely the better choice (when we bought ours, you could either get the sick-on one or a larger suction cup that required batteries and was significantly more expensive). The stick-on is the cheapest at $5 but for $20, the suction cup is a good option (and for us, it would solve we have because we have one in the mh and one in the car, we get double charges so I have to check my account every few months and get the to correct it).

If anyone is interested, here's more info:
specs : https://www.sunpass.com/en/about/sunPassTransponders.shtml
where to buy : https://www.sunpass.com/en/about/whereToPurchaseSunPass.shtml
 
The suction cup one is most likely the better choice (when we bought ours, you could either get the sick-on one or a larger suction cup that required batteries and was significantly more expensive). The stick-on is the cheapest at $5 but for $20, the suction cup is a good option (and for us, it would solve we have because we have one in the mh and one in the car, we get double charges so I have to check my account every few months and get the to correct it).

If anyone is interested, here's more info:
specs : https://www.sunpass.com/en/about/sunPassTransponders.shtml
where to buy : https://www.sunpass.com/en/about/whereToPurchaseSunPass.shtml

What kind of battery? I haven’t noticed it uses batteries!
 
What kind of battery? I haven’t noticed it uses batteries!
The batteries were just on the old ones (they were about the size and shape of garage door openers and had a light or something that would indicate when your toll was paid). The newer model of suction cup Sunpass does not have batteries but I don't believe they have any visual cues either.

Actually, it sounds like they got rid of all the battery ones about 3 years ago (they don't work with the system anymore). You can see pictures here:

http://realtime.blog.palmbeachpost....-sunpass-transponders-wont-work-after-dec-31/
 

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