An installation adapter includes four downwardly extending tabs which mate into the cylindrical ball tube of an underbed portion of a hitch. A center hole on the installation adapter designates a location for drilling a pilot hole upward through the bed of the pickup truck. Four arms on the installation adapter extend outward from the center hole, covering and protecting the top face of the hitch during hole sawing using the pilot hole downward through the bed material. The installation adapter is preferably molded from a brightly colored polymer material.