RAM 50 4WD with 2.0L gets very poor mpg.

[capev86]

my 87 ram 50, std cab, short bed, 2wd, 5spd, manual everything (even steering) got a best of 27mpg and my dealer brochure says 23 city / 28 highway for my exact truck.

after all the other items like maintenance, tuning, fresh fluids, tire pressure, etc look at such items as driving habits and type of driving you do. you won't get good mpg if you are a gas/brake kind of person, spend a lot of time in traffic, or do around town driving and never get it up on the highway.

also remember that the extra weight and rolling resistance of a 4x4 system adds load to the engine. the gearing may be steeper too (4.22 instead of 3.90). i would think in an ideal world you should be getting 20-26mpg driving. 16mpg is more what you'd expect out of a big pickup or suv with a v6 or v8 on the highway so keep plugging away at it.