BE36 INITIATED THE CLB FROM 1500 FT PREMATURELY ON THE TEB 5 DEP.

Narrative

OUR IFR DEP CLRNC FROM TEB INCLUDED THE TEB 5 STANDARD INSTRUMENT DEP (SID) PROC; AND WE DEPARTED VIA RWY 24. THE PROC CALLS FOR RWY HEADING TO 1500 FT; R TURN TO 280 DEGS MAINTAINING 1500 FT UNTIL REACHING TEB 4.5 DME OR THE PNJ 015 BEARING; AND THEN CLBING TO 2000 FT. DUE TO CONFUSION WITH THE PROC; I CLBED EARLY FROM 1500 FT TO 2000 FT AFTER THE TURN TO 280 DEGS; BUT BEFORE REACHING THE END OF THE ALTITUDE RESTR; THUS DEVIATING FROM THE PROC. SAFETY WAS NOT COMPROMISED; FOR THERE WERE NO ACFT ON THE LOCALIZER TO EWR. HAD THERE BEEN ANYBODY ON THAT APCH; THIS STORY COULD HAVE HAD A MUCH MORE TRAGIC ENDING. I THINK WHAT LED TO THIS CONFUSION WAS THAT BOTH DESCRIPTIONS OF THE ALTITUDE RESTR TRANSITION POINT REQUIRE DME OR ADF TO IDENTIFY; AND WE HAD NEITHER IN OUR ACFT. MY COPLT WAS NOT ABLE TO LOAD THE DEP PROC IN THE GPS DATABASE; I ASSUME BECAUSE HE COULDN'T FIND IT. THIS MEANT SETTING UP OUR GPS (GNS-530) IN OBS MODE TO PNJ; A 'DIRECT TO' SETTING TO TEB TO GET THE DISTANCE; OR USING THE 'NEAREST' FUNCTION TO GET OUR DISTANCE FROM TEB. ANY OF THESE METHODS WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE GPS AWAY FROM OUR PRIMARY FLT PLAN; CAUSING A LITTLE UNEASINESS; IN ADDITION TO THE INCREASED WORKLOAD; SO WE DID NOT IMMEDIATELY EMBRACE ANY OF THESE ALTERNATIVES. THIS RESULTED IN A DISTR WHICH SOMEHOW CAUSED ME TO BELIEVE IT WAS OK TO CLB TO 2000 FT; AND I CLIMBED TO 2000 FT BEFORE I COULD CORRECT THE SITUATION. MOST ACFT FLYING SERIOUS IFR TODAY ARE EQUIPPED WITH GPS INSTEAD OF DME OR ADF. IT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL IF A GPS FIX SIMILAR TO SHRLI INTXN IN THE HEF ARS-2 SID WERE ADDED TO SIMPLIFY THIS PROC FOR GPS EQUIPPED ACFT. I ALSO THINK THE INFORMATION IN THIS PROC CONCERNING THE ALTITUDE RESTR IS MORE COMPLICATED THAN IT NEEDS TO BE; WHICH CAN LEAD TO CONFUSION. ADDITIONALLY; THIS HAS TAUGHT ME TO BE MORE THOROUGH IN BRIEFING THE SID BEFORE DEPARTING TO MAKE SURE IT IS FULLY UNDERSTOOD.