Team 228 is by no means a rookie team, as this upcoming FRC season will be our ninth. But for the 2007 game, we've begun to seriously consider using the Kitbot frame as the basis for our robot chassis. While evaluating its possible pros and cons, we've begun to seriously consider manufacturing custom CNC'd 1/8" sheet metal flanges, brackets, and more to fit/weld onto the Kitbot chassis to uberly-strengthen it. Rather than re-invent the wheel by designing an entirely custom-machined frame, a "CNC-modded" Kitbot chassis could be up and running faster and cheaper, while still having the same or a very similar end-result.
Plus, a chassis done in the first or second week of the build season has plenty of time to go off to be powder-coated, and still come back quick enough without interrupting the design and manufacturing of other robot components. 