In California, we have to register our TM as a "travel trailer" and pay annual licensing fees, vs. a tent trailer, that you can register as a "PTO" and pay a one time fee. We have a utility trailer too, it's a "PTO".
I now believe that the difference between the two, according to our state law, is the definition of "Recreational Vehicle". From what the lady at the DMV told us (it took us the better part of 20 minutes to wait while they decided what to charge us when we registered it, we bought it out of state), they were charging us an annual license fee "because it had hard walls and you could live in it".
Our county just passed a law that would forbid on-street "Recreational Vehicle" parking in neighborhoods that get together and vote for the restriction.
While researching the law while I composed a letter to my county supervisor, I looked up the definition of "Recreational Vehicle" in the state vehicle code, and found that the definition said that a "Recreational Vehicle" was "designed for human habitation". Evidently, tent trailers aren't "designed for human habitation", at least in the eyes of the California DMV. So, to, me, the "Recreational Vehicle" parking restriction wouldn't apply to tent trailers (?
). There are already laws prohibiting camping on the street at night, but some people in a particular neighborhood felt that there was another law needed because these laws already on the books aren't being enforced.
Perhaps in some states this would bolster your argument with the campground owners/managers that your TM wasn't a "popup", but a true "travel trailer". Of course, it's all subject to their judgment, and that's about as predictable as knowing which side of the bed they got out of in the morning.
I'd be curious to hear from people around the country about how they have to pay their TM license fees, annually, or do you only have to pay a one time fee?