Spare tire tuned mass damper

A vehicle underbody support structure comprising:

• a pair of structural support beams;
• a tire carrier having a mounting plate and a pair of lateral support frames;
• a spare tire suspended from above by the pair of support frames via the mounting plate on one side of the pair of support frames of the tire carrier;
• and
• a spring and damper assembly having a leaf spring connected to the tire carrier at least one of the pair of support frames, and supporting the tire carrier from below, the leaf spring having a pair of cylindrical ends each directly connected to a respective one of the pair of structural support members;
• wherein the spring and damper assembly is operatively attached to the pair of structural support beams and to the pair of lateral support frames and is operable to at least partially absorb and damp the vibration of said beams.

A method of reducing road vibration in a vehicle having an underbody support structure, the method including:

• connecting a spare tire carrier, a tire, and a wheel to a leaf spring of a spring and damper assembly, the leaf spring having a pair of cylindrical ends;
• supporting the spare tire carrier, the tire, and the wheel from below and beneath the underbody support structure using the leaf spring;
• connecting the spring and damper assembly to the underbody support structure at each of the cylindrical ends;
• and
• using the spring and damper assembly to absorb and damp a vibration of the support structure to a predetermined level.