Supercharger - Darien CT Rest Area

[SureValla]

I wonder if this explains what happened to me at 1am today (Saturday 2-4).
I tried to get a charge at Darien Southbound. Tried all four stalls with no luck. Rather than waste time calling Tesla, I just backtracked and charged successfully at Darien northbound.
Thankfully we have this option, otherwise I don't know how I would have gotten home.

does the car tell you if a station is up or down before you get there?

 

[shelbri]

does the car tell you if a station is up or down before you get there?

Yes- the little red symbol on the navigation map is different when the location is not operational.

 

[juliusa]

Darien North being repaired. 2 stalls open. Nav says reduced service.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Looks like a truck ran into it!!

 

[SureValla]

Darien North being repaired. 2 stalls open. Nav says reduced service.

Holy crap, is this the one closest to the service entrance or further past the gas pumps?

 

[juliusa]

Past the gas pumps. Not sure how someone managed to hit it.

 

[juliusa]

Charger has been replaced, but pedestals are still taped. Looks like it may be a few more days before they get it fired up again. Milford is not far down the road from there.

 

[juliusa]

Charger #2 (past the gas pumps) not working now. Tesla knows about it and says they are coming on May 14.

Use charger #1 - the first one you come to, not the one by the gas pumps.

 

[Okemonkey]

Planning a trip to DC next week and this would be likely first stop from RI. Are these back to being more reliable? unfortunately hitting them in the 8am hour, do they typically have a wait to use them during rush hours? any info much appreciated!

 

[EdA]

Check via your car at 8am for the next few days, it will show how many stalls are in use.
The Merritt (Greenwich) is a good option if 95 has congestion. "No one takes 95, it is too crowded".

 

[juliusa]

They are always very reliable - the posts were about Darien North where 2 of the 4 pedestals were out for about a week due to the supercharger cabinet being hit by a truck.

You will be stopping at Darien South which has 4 pedestals right next to each other. Never seen a wait there (I pass by regularly), though sometimes you may be paired.

You are traveling at a REALLY bad time for traffic. At that hour from RI I would suggest leaving an hour earlier, cutting over to the Merritt at Milford, going over the TZB instead of GWB, and down the GSP to I-95. My suggested charging would be any/all of Greenwich, Cranbury, Newark, and Aberdeen which are all right on the highway - if it were me I would charge a little in Greenwich to make it to Cranbury, and then enough at Cranbury to get to Aberdeen where I charge to 90%. You can easily get to DC and back from Aberdeen, and Laurel is a good fallback on the way home if you are feeling anxious.

 

[HankLloydRight]

The last several times I charged at Darien SB, the most I got was about 70kW.. and I was the only car there. Didn't change even when I changed stalls to the other charger cabinet.

 

[juliusa]

I charged there a couple of weeks ago without any problem. I see a plugshare checkin yesterday claiming 92kW, and some from a month ago saying it was slow. PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You

 

[Okemonkey]

Check via your car at 8am for the next few days, it will show how many stalls are in use.
The Merritt (Greenwich) is a good option if 95 has congestion. "No one takes 95, it is too crowded".

Thanks, that is a good idea, I think I will also see what Waze gives for routes at that hour this week also, just to see.

They are always very reliable - the posts were about Darien North where 2 of the 4 pedestals were out for about a week due to the supercharger cabinet being hit by a truck.

You will be stopping at Darien South which has 4 pedestals right next to each other. Never seen a wait there (I pass by regularly), though sometimes you may be paired.

You are traveling at a REALLY bad time for traffic. At that hour from RI I would suggest leaving an hour earlier, cutting over to the Merritt at Milford, going over the TZB instead of GWB, and down the GSP to I-95. My suggested charging would be any/all of Greenwich, Cranbury, Newark, and Aberdeen which are all right on the highway - if it were me I would charge a little in Greenwich to make it to Cranbury, and then enough at Cranbury to get to Aberdeen where I charge to 90%. You can easily get to DC and back from Aberdeen, and Laurel is a good fallback on the way home if you are feeling anxious.

Thanks for the suggestion. We have done this pre-July 4 trip for the last 17 years on our way to Outer Banks of NC, usually leaving Saturday but also a number of years leaving Friday, with all sorts of different traffic snarls and routes including rare GWB smooth rides and many TZB instead. Could try to leave earlier but doubt it. Even worse than NYC was the NJ traffic on sunny Saturdays we would hit right with the mid-morning beach goers.

Last three years we have flown to Norfolk. But this is the first we will make the trip in the MX and looking forward to the challenge of making well timed stops. Cranberry and Newark are in our plan, and the location at service plazas should be great. Trying to familiarize myself with some back up spots so I will check out the other two you mention.

 

[HeloCaptain]

[QUOTE="We have done this pre-July 4 trip for the last 17 years on our way to Outer Banks of NC..."[/QUOTE]

We just returned from a trip to Wilmington, NC in our MX100D. Never had any range anxiety at all. PLENTY of Supercharger options. I never travel the GWB, ALWAYS go via TZB.[/QUOTE]

 

[juliusa]

Thanks, that is a good idea, I think I will also see what Waze gives for routes at that hour this week also, just to see.

Waze is your friend!! I'd leave at 3am because I hate traffic...but I know that is a bit extreme.

I just drove to FL from CT a week ago. Newark DE was my first charge, then Lewes (you can skip that), Salisbury, Norfolk, Plymouth...

Is that they way you go - down the peninsula? It was a nice drive.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I never travel the GWB, ALWAYS go via TZB.

Going south, the problem with the GWB is 95S and the Cross-Bronx Expressway leading up to the bridge.

I've been driving between Boston and Phila and CT and Phila for the last 25 years (my parents live near Phila). Except during rush hour, I most always take the GWB to the NJTP, but an alternate route that rarely has any traffic (see map below).

From 95S in Connecticut, I take 287N (towards the TZB), to the Hutchinson Parkway south.. to the Cross County Parkway, to the Henry Hudson Parkway (has a toll).. which drops you off right at the foot of the GWB, avoiding all the Cross Bronx Expressway. Going North (again, except during rush hour), I do the same route in reverse.

Taking the TZB instead either way adds about 15 minutes to this route.

Another tip is that when going north over the GWB, always take the lower level. There are no trucks allowed and it's always a much fast trip through the tolls and the bridge.

 

[EdA]

I also prefer this route, usually coming down the Merritt. It does include an additional toll bridge on the Henry Hudson Pkwy.

 

[SureValla]

I can't think of a time where I've taken anything but the above route...

 

[bhuwan]

I just drove back to nyc (did this two weekends in a row, very different routes).
I prefer 84 all the way to TZB and then palisades parkway .... on Sunday because of how bad traffic can be.

To answer @Okemonkey ...
Having said that, I rarely find the need to use Darien/Milford/greenwich anymore. They are too stressful, with their limited number stalls and ICE’ing - especially high traffic periods.

I much prefer to visit the super chargers that have at least 8 stalls - Danbury, Milford (mall), Tarrytown, Paramus.