There ain't no such thing as too much grow fun. IMO of course.
If I charged a welder rate for the hours involved, the Thule option might look a bit more reasonable. But where is the fun with that? I enjoy designing and making stuff, and I am still learning about aluminum welding.
Some of my beads are looking pretty close to just right. The most recent improvement was when I figured out that the wire feed suggestions were a fair bit off the mark. As in, level 4 recommended, level 7 being about right. I would be embarassed to admit how many mig tips I welded shut before figuring that out.