So I made the trip I described in the original post this week. While it was doable, it is plain that filling in the supercharger void in Harrisburg and Scranton would make this trip much easier.
Here's a synopsis:
1. We needed to arrive in Hancock, NY on Tuesday in a relatively tight window of time for a drop-off at camp. Thus, out of an abundance of caution, and because my daughter was anxious to get on the road, we left on Monday evening at around 9:00 PM headed to Paramus, NJ as our stop for the evening. This spot was chosen because it's the last supercharger location before heading to Hancock, NY.
2. I entered the hotel into the nav system, where it immediately set-up an illogical charging scheme that include a stop in Bethesda, even though it is only a few miles from the house. Thus, I cancelled that route.
3. I then entered the Newark, DE supercharger instead. We hit some traffic and rain, but we limped our way to the supercharger. Everything went well.
4. Back on the road to Paramus. Hit the hotel around 1:30 AM and went to bed.
5. On Tuesday morning we drove up the street to the supercharger and started our range charge (which was necessary to have any hope of doing a round trip). It took about 1:15 maybe a touch longer.
6. Drove to Hancock without a problem.
7. When I got back in the car and punched up the Paramus supercharger it told me I couldn't make it back without charging, and it suggested a crazy reroute to Greenwich, CT. I was pretty sure I could make it with a few miles to spare based on an Evtripplaner route. However, I didn't want to cut it too close.
8. Thus, I drove about 30 miles to a public charger that is attached to the Catskills Brewery. I needed lunch anyway, but it turned out the brewery was really only a brewery and it wasn't open. Nevertheless, I started charging at typical J1772 speeds (ChargePoint station) and wandered down the road looking for a sandwich. Hardly ideal, but I did find a store. After trekking back to the car, the owner of the brewery came out and we chatted. He's a very nice guy and the brewery has the charging station as part of its "green" building plan that will eventually grant LEED certification for the building.
9. After adding about 18 miles range in an hour or so, I took off again headed for Paramus.
10. I hit major traffic around Paramus, but arrived with more than enough range. Indeed, I probably could have skipped the public charging just as evtripplanner suggested.
11. I charged for about 20-25 minutes in Paramus and headed to the Newark, DE supercharger.
12. After charging in Newark for 20 minutes or so, I headed home.
Observations: The route I chose was definitely faster than trying to publicly charge through PA, but compared to an ICE trip, it took a lot longer given the extra miles and the need for a range charge. In hindsight, I should have found a hotel where I could charged overnight, but the decision to leave on Monday evening was made in haste. Regardless, this trip will be much easier once the shorter route through Harrisburg and Scranton are equipped with superchargers. Come on Tesla!!
