The movie you're thinking of is 'Judgement Night'. I remember watching it long ago when nothing else was on. It was good, in that special 'this is a terrible movie' way. Denis Leary makes it funny enough to be watchable.

That is an inaccurate generalization.

MANY BUT ALL Walmarts and Sam's Clubs allow Overnight RV Parking; many don't allow it.

Walmart's corporate policy is that RVers must obtain permisison from the store manager before parking overnight in a store parking lot. From a practical standpoint, most stores have authorized the Customer Service Desk to grant or deny this permission.

Well, who knew that there was an administration for this type of thing!
Welcome to the forum Jim. Nice informative first post.

Depends on the state... Some explicitly allow overnight parking up to 12 hours, some limit stops to no more than 3 hours. In California, the limit is 8 hours, and there is an explicit "no camping" rule. For motorhomes, this means you're probably OK if you remain in travel mode.....but putting out awnings or slides may get you talked to or cited by the CHP.

You just have to look at the sheer volume of laws they're responsible for to understand they don't have everything at their fingertips. The more common laws that are enforced in CA are found in the California Vehicle Code or Penal Code, but then you have to add on such things as the local Municipal Code, Business and Professions Code, Health and Safety Code, and Welfare and Institutions Code. I think we even have a Fish and Game Code, too (not that we used that much in an urban setting). Being up to date on every parking regulation is probably not at the top of the list when police officers are responsible for tens of thousands of laws in CA as it is.

And consider first and foremost whether it's likely that anyone would complain if you park your RV in a particular spot and spend the night. If you're in a place where no one would object, it's quite unlikely the police will care, whatever happens to be in the state statutes and city ordinances.

In re: signage, a lot of times parking restrictions are only posted at the city limits and no in the municipality itself. E.g., Claremont does not allow overnight parking (or more specifically, no parking on city streets between 2am-6am Daily) without a permit. Pasadena and Arcadia follow similar rules. These restrictions are posted ONLY when one crosses the boundaries incoming, and not on the usual street signs.