I'm about 98% sure 4.8/4.6is didn't come with the spare tire strap thing... probably cause they didn't come with full size spares.

If we are talking about the rubber bungee that holds up the floor, my 4.8is has it. It does not however have the suspension netting type setup that helped to lift the spare tire out of the well like my old 4.4i did.

Now, neither of mine came equipped with the roller floor so I can't speak to what setup that one is supposed to have. I'm supposing the prop rod situation mentioned on the previous page.

I. New enough to these that I didn't know that some don't have the roller floor. The book doesn't specify, just shows the hook to hold the spare tire cover up. That is similar to the setup on our Outback. Mine has the rod on the right side to prop the roller floor up, I just hadn't seen that when looking for some type of strap.

The roller floor is an odd feature in my opinion. But, I am tall enough that putting things in and out of the rear hatch is no problem. As to the strap for removing the spare, it's well documented that only the models with a full size spare have that.

I've spent many hours reading on this site over the last ten days, and have learned so much! Thanks to everyone who contributes.

In regards to the owners manual...take note that if an asterisk is at the far right of a heading...it indicates that the topic discussed in the paragraph below it is OPTIONAL...and may not apply if the vehicle does not have that option.

Explanation of symbols used in the owners manual...and what they represent:


As you can see in the excerpts below from the owners manual...the regular cargo floor uses a strap & hook to hold it up to access things below it. But if you have the optional pull-out/roll-out cargo floor (note asterisk to right of heading)...it uses a rod to accomplish this fete.