Lee Loader

I would go iron .......
I have a light weight press that has made a lot of cycles and the ram and frame are significantly worn by a lot I believe that this press would have been canned or returned long age had it not been iron .

I have several presses and the new one has been out of production over 10 yr .

I think that probably in my case it would be more the environmental damage than wear from use . Everything has some contact with decomposed granite dust . Windshield wipers will etch the windshield if run dry so a steel ram with a little dust would probably cut right through the alloy frame .

For standard reloading, an aluminum press will work fine. For heavy duty use, like case forming and such, a cast iron or steel press is the way to go. Which will work best and last longer depends on what you use it for.