The early versions of this mod would, first, search the player, then the vehicle, and then passengers. I forget why but I removed it, but I can try adding that feature back in again and either update the mod or report why I can't do that.
I'll see about getting the player and vehicle searched, but I've only played singleplayer, so I don't know about passengers.
I have yet to make equipment, and I have little graphical skills for them, but I can offer an equipmentless approach for now. Settings would be something I would look into as well.