1984 dodge truck

My father gave me his old boat. It is approx. 21 feet and weighs approx. 4,500 lbs. I need a vehicle to pull it. I only intend to use the truck to tow the boat from storage to the water which is about 10 miles each way. I know a guy who has a 1984 dodge pickup with the 225 CI slant 6 and automatic trans. The truck is in fair condition and I can pick it up for $400. There's approx. 100k on the clock.

I have searched the web high and low and cant seem to find any discussion where people talk about towing with these things. Does anybody out there know much about these trucks, and do they think this truck can survive towing this boat to the water. Thanks in advance for any help offered.

RE: 1984 dodge truck

84 you say. Had 1, no that’s a lie I had 2 and an 87 to match that all got beat on daily and they are as dependable as the rising sun as long as you are not in a big hurry to get anywhere because they have no concept of hurry. My only concern would be does it have enough power to lift itself, the boat and trailer up the loading ramp out of the water? No I’m not joking, I’m perfectly serious, but if it can handle that lift up the ramp without sitting still on the ramp and moaning a lot while going know where then otherwise it would make an excellent beater truck for the job.

2 potential problems with the breed.
The heater fan switch resistor goes frequently turning the fan into a 2 speed (medium or off) which probably isn’t an issue for your purpose.
Second check to be sure there is adequate clearance between the trans cooling lines and the engine oil dipstick tube. Chrysler did issue a service bulletin due to my 87. Without a word of a lie the trans fluid decreased in direct proportion to engine oil increase because the trans line and dipstick tubes had worn tinny holes in each other but had originally been installed snugly together and normal vibration eventually caused the holes. No I’m not kidding.

RE: 1984 dodge truck

Now that is a scary thought. drop the boat in the water and have fun all day. Get back to shore, load the boat, and not be able to pull it out. What the heck do you do then? Just sit on the ramp with the engine screaming? Thanks for the reply.