Our base drive platform, in a 4 wheel drive configuration, cost less than $20 for the aluminum tube. Add eight 1/4 inch bolts and voila, about the cheapest frame you can get. That puts the basic frame assembly itself at about 8 pounds. Topside, we are using aluminum angle, with some polycarbonate here and there.
We'll probably have $500 to $600 in the structure in the final analysis, but two thirds of that is for pizza or subs during Saturday build sessions. It's taken us a few years to get our priorities right
