With a mounted plow, the first step was to get the in furrow tire set so that the first moldboard took just enough dirt to nicely fill in the previous furrow.  Most of the time the plow had a side to side leveling adjustment and the top link on the three point hitch leveled from front to back.  According to an old John Deere manual, the correct procedure was to plow the first round with the plow adjusted to run level with both tires on the level of the field.  The operator then had to readjust the plow to compensate for the tire in the furrow for the rest of the field.
With a wide front end, the furrow pretty much steered the tractor.  With a narrow front end, the driver had to do all the work while looking at the sky because the tractor was running uphill the whole time.  I remember it being really hard on the tire that ran in the furrow.