I wound up taking off the two plastic brackets for the load floor. It's just one screw on each side and they come right off. This way the load floor lays flat on the spare tire without any finicky adjustments. There is a substantial metal tab hiding inside the plastic cover that bears the bulk of the weight, so if you need to lay the load floor panel in the higher position, you still can. The only reduction in function is that you cannot raise and lock the floor in the upward tabs.